Child of the Sun
by LadyV77
Summary: Trance Gemini's daughter from an alternate timeline's future joins the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant. What will her presence mean to the crew? COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the people you recognize, they were inspired by the brilliant and sadly missed mind of Gene Roddenberry. Majel Barret-Roddenberry, Tribune and SciFi Channel now own them, among others. I'm not making any money off this and have very little to speak of, so don't sue, it would be a huge waste of court costs.

**Author's Note:** Alura is my own creation. She is the daughter of an Avatar (Trance, the Avatar of the Sun, not an avatar like Rommie is sometimes called, to limit confusion, Rommie will be referred to as an android and avatar will only be used to describe Trance and Alura) and a Nietzschean. Drago is not mine, I just named him and gave him a personality and a destiny.

This story takes place after Tyr has fallen into the Abyss' pit and Dylan and the Andromeda's crew are now outlaws (pesky Collectors!).

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"_What_ is that?" Captain Dylan Hunt asked.

A large, patched-together looking ship was directly in their line of vision. The Andromeda Ascendant was currently hiding in an uninhabited system to take a much-needed break and get in some repairs.

The holographic female image of the Andromeda Ascendant's AI frowned, looking perplexed, and replied, "Scanning."

Dylan hadn't known it was possible, but the holograph paled.

"What's wrong, Andromeda?" asked the man standing at the security station.

He was the mirror image of the ship's Second In Command from 300 years ago, a man who had betrayed the Commonwealth and his Captain. But Telemachus was not Gaheris.

Telemachus Rhade had already proven many times over that he was trustworthy and that his loyalty was to Dylan's ideal of what the Commonwealth should be. Unfortunately, the uniting of most of the Nietzschean Prides and the manipulations of the Collectors had begun a civil war within the New Commonwealth. Those now in power did not hold with the ideals of Dylan Hunt, his ship, and his crew.

"The alien vessel is unshielded, but most of its mass is an EM pulse bomb big enough to knock out the power on an entire planet. And it's already charged. Even if we jumped into slipstream right now, I don't know if we'd be able to outrun the resulting wave. There is one Magog life sign on board."

"Harper," Dylan barked.

An image of the ship's chief engineer appeared on one of the screens.

"Yeah, boss?"

There were tools and parts strewn out around Harper, who was sitting under the control panel down in the slipstream core. Today he had scheduled repairs to the damage to the slipstream drive they had sustained during the most recent skirmish with the Collectors. It didn't appear that he had finished them yet.

"When will we have slipstream drive back, Mr. Harper?"

"Hold your horses, boss, it'll be at least another hour. What's your hurry? I may be a genius..."

Recognizing that Harper was on one of his rants, Dylan made a slicing motion in front of his neck. Andromeda turned Harper's screen off.

"Rommie, assessment."

"If they do fire at us, this ship will just be a shell; I will no longer exist. My systems cannot protect against a blast that big. The people onboard will be dead in a few hours from lack of oxygen. Even the escape pods won't help, if you were in them when the pulse hit, you'd quickly run out of oxygen, and they won't launch after my power goes down."

"What if a few of us got on the Maru?" Beka asked from her spot at the weapons control.

_And whom would she save?_ Telemachus thought in disgust, _Beside herself, of course_.

"The Eureka Maru isn't any faster or less dependent on electricity than the Andromeda Ascendant." Rommie the android replied from her spot near Dylan.

The holographic version of Andromeda tilted her head.

"What is it?"

The android Rommie was the one who answered Dylan's question. "I'm detecting a slipstream event. I think."

"You think? What does that mean exactly?"

Trance suddenly ran on to the bridge. "It means Rommie has never seen a slipstream that crossed realities before. Something is happening, Dylan, something big. Something that's never happened before."

"Yeah," Beka said dryly, "we've come up against a wall we can't scale or go under. We've actually been beaten."

"No, Beka. Someone is coming."

Dylan glanced at Trance. Her eyes held a far off look, and there was a slight frown on her face. A few seconds later she blinked and her face cleared, and Dylan knew she was back with them.

"Whoever they are, they are from a reality I cannot traverse."

The crew was used to Trance saying things like that since their encounter with the Abyss. They were used to not understanding what she was talking about. All of them but Dylan. She had revealed herself to him, and he now trusted her beyond question.

"I thought you traversed all realities?"

"Only the ones I exist in. Whoever it is must be from a reality where my younger self still exists. They don't mean us any harm. In fact, they're here to try to save us."

Telemachus was the first to make any sound. "An ally. I was beginning to think we'd never run into any of those."

Beka made a noise in agreement.

Just then the screen was filled with a burst of light followed by a slipstream event. But instead of the pale blue the phenomenon usually was, this one was green-tinged. Out of it flew a ship that, at least in design, looked like a cross between a Nietzschean fighter and one of Andromeda's slipfighters. But she was bigger than either, bigger, in fact, than the Maru. It was a beautiful ship and very fast, flying straight to an area of space about half way between the Andromeda and the EM ship.

"Andromeda," Dylan asked, "any readings that would tell us anything?"

"One life sign on board. Female, but I cannot tell what species. The ship is what it appears to be - an amalgamation of Nietzschean and Commonwealth technology. Also, I do not detect an AI. We are receiving a transmission from the new ship." The holograph frowned deeper. "Text only."

"What does it say?" Dylan asked, an edge of impatience in his voice.

"I quote, 'Captain Hunt. Stay back until the other ship has fired. As soon as the field dissipates, I would appreciate being picked up. And be prepared for an attack from a swarm.' That is all it says."

"Trance?"

"We should do as she asks, Dylan. We cannot help her yet. All we can do is wait."

They didn't have long to wait. All five of them watched tensely as the EM ship sent out a visible wave of energy. But the ship now between them and their attacker emitted an energy field of it's own, and the two energies collided, creating a brief, brilliant flash of light. When it cleared, neither of the other ships moved. Andromeda scanned them.

"Both ships have no energy readings at all. Amazingly, I am still getting that life sign from the friendly ship."

"Any signs of Magog? Never mind."

A normal slipstream portal had opened while Dylan was talking. Dozens of Magog swarm ships flew out, immediately targeting the Andromeda.

"Pick them off." Dylan ordered.

"With pleasure," Beka responded. "Loading all missile tubes and preparing for immediate reload. Firing."

Almost every missile found a target and the remaining Magog scattered.

"Dylan!" Trance raised her voice. She hardly ever did that. She hardly ever needed to. "The other ship."

Andromeda changed the view screen back to the friendly ship. Three Magog ships were rapidly closing in on it.

"Beka!"

"Sorry, Dylan, I was kinda more worried about us. Firing."

The three ships going after their new ally were blown up.

"Captain, permission to fly over to the other ship and maneuver it into one of the docking bays." Telemachus stood at attention after his request.

"Granted. Put it in hangar one, I don't think it'll fit in any of the others."

Telemachus moved to the pilot's station and flew the Andromeda into grappling range of the other ship. His fingers flying over the controls, the Nietzschean caught hold of the ship and eased it into Andromeda's biggest hangar.

"Nice work, Rhade. You, Rommie, and Trance, with me. Let's go greet our savior. Beka, pick off any more stragglers and warn us immediately if another swarm shows up."

Trance, Rommie, and Telemachus followed their Captain to the hangar where the new arrival was waiting. When they reached the enormous room and approached the silent ship, the holograph Andromeda appeared near Dylan.

"I don't think the occupant can get out of the ship. There is a door near the nose, and I have recorded occasional sounds coming from inside."

The group moved to the door Andromeda had indicated. There was indeed a muffled thump from the inside. Quickly examining the area around the door, Dylan found a hidden panel with a lever inside. Hoping Trance was right and they had, indeed, done the right thing, he pulled the lever. There was a slight hiss as the door slowly swung open and air was sucked into the other ship from the Andromeda's artificial atmosphere.

A figure moved in the unlit interior of the now open ship, stepping toward them. The first thing Dylan noticed was the diving apparatus, similar to one used on Earth, covering the face of their new guest. The system required no electrical energy and explained why she had been able to wait for them to fight off the Magog before rescuing her. The second thing he noticed was her arm as it reached up to remove the apparatus from her face.

There were two things Dylan immediately found fascinating about that arm. The first was that it was blue. Not suffering-from-hypothermia-blue-tinged, but actual, honest to gosh blue. Well, not just blue, shades of blue, the tender inner side fading to silver, much like Trance's skin faded from deep red to palest gold. The second thing, and somehow more surprising, was the spines. Dylan had been around Nietzscheans enough to know that this woman's spines were long for a female, but not as long as a male's. And they were a dark blue with a black line running from root to tip on each. How could a Nietzschean possibly have that kind of coloring?

The woman removed the apparatus from her head and looked at Dylan, who was first in her line of vision. She was very beautiful, with dark blue eyes and features somewhat similar to Trance's, her facial coloring pattern also very similar except for the actual colors. Full, light pink lips smiled at him before the stranger turned her head and looked at Trance.

"Hello, mother."


	2. Chapter 2

"Trance?" Dylan asked softly.

The Avatar held her hand up in a wait-a-minute gesture and Dylan watched as she moved closer to the young woman who looked a lot like her.

"So you didn't just cross realities, you crossed time as well?"

The woman who claimed to be Trance's daughter nodded in answer to her mother's question. "I had to. The Abyss has almost completely destroyed my reality. Of the ones I could get to, this reality had the best chance of being your 'one perfect possible future'. I came to give you a better chance at surviving that attack so you can stop the Abyss."

"I haven't had you yet," Trance said softly.

"You never will," Trance's daughter answered. "You had me when you were purple. I won't ever be born in this reality. And my name is Alura."

"Alura," Trance tested, smiling, "after my great-grandmother." Alura nodded. "You're Nietzschean."

Alura glanced down at her own arm spines. "Yes. Well, only half, of course."

"And your father?"

A cloud seemed to pass over Alura's face at that. "He's dead, and I'd rather not discuss him. He raised me, but... Let's just say that it's not important for you to know about him."

"Okay, if you don't want to talk about him and he's dead here anyway, we don't have to discuss it."

"Thank you for understanding."

Dylan watched the interplay between mother and daughter, then glanced at Telemachus. His Nietzschean Lieutenant was watching Alura with open interest, studying her face and occasionally glancing at her arm spines. When the conversation between mother and child lulled, Telemachus took a step forward and cleared his throat. Alura turned her head to look at Telemachus, sweeping him from head to foot with her gaze before inclining her head slightly.

"Telemachus Rhade, out of Majorem by Rhade."

Alura opened her mouth and closed it again before saying, "Alura, daughter of Trance Gemini."

Dylan knew it wasn't the standard Nietzschean greeting, but Alura wasn't a standard Nietzschean.

"Are you at least going to tell us what Pride you're from?" Telemachus asked.

"No."

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Her answer was short and brooked no argument. For a moment, Alura felt bad about being so abrupt, it wasn't Telemachus Rhade's fault that her background wouldn't inspire warm fuzzy feelings in the crew. But it wasn't her fault either. She hadn't chosen what and who she came from. Alura turned back toward Dylan and smiled.

"Captain Dylan Hunt of the High Guard warship Andromeda Ascendant. It is an honor to finally meet you."

She stepped forward and grasped the inside of his forearm. Although she could sense his surprise, both at how strong her grip was and that she had used this ancient variation of the handshake, Dylan completed the physical greeting before he seemed to realize what she said.

"We hadn't met in your reality?"

"I was born on the Andromeda and I assume you may have seen me a few times as an infant, but I was raised mostly planet-side, away from the immediate danger inherent to being a member of your crew."

"Well, then, I'm glad to finally meet you too."

Dylan smiled warmly at her, and Alura knew it was because her mother had so easily accepted who she was that Dylan now accepted her. Trance was important to Dylan, although just how important in this reality Alura wasn't sure. Since Dylan didn't show any signs of being upset that Trance had given birth to someone else's child, it was easy to guess that they didn't have a physical relationship. Or maybe they just hadn't reached that stage in their relationship yet.

In her reality, Trance had decided to remain by Dylan's side and die with her love in the fight against the Magog rather than leaving to find another way to destroy the Abyss. They had both died when she was ten, which was the main reason she had never met Dylan until now.

The holograph Andromeda appeared beside Dylan. "Captain, Harper has slipstream back and all the Magog on sensors are dead."

"Thank you, Andromeda. Tell Beka to take us out of here before we get any more uninvited guests."

"Aye, Captain."

Dylan turned back to her, and Alura was slightly embarrassed to be found biting her lip nervously. Dylan smiled gently at her, letting her know that his uninvited guests remake didn't apply to her. Alura took a fortifying breath, hoping she wasn't about to ask too much of this man.

"Captain Hunt..."

"Please. Call me Dylan," he interrupted.

"Dylan." She took another breath. "I would like to ask if you could possibly drop me at the nearest repair drift. I have money for whatever you deem is fair compensation, but my ship isn't going anywhere until I can build a replacement core. It will have to be a place that rents rooms since I can't stay on the ship without a life support system, but that shouldn't be too hard to find, right?"

"Harder than you'd think," Telemachus answered her. "Especially now that we can't go to any of the Commonwealth-run repair drifts."

Alura nodded, "I had forgotten about that."

"Don't worry about it," Dylan said. "You're welcome to stay onboard as long as you need to."

"And I'm sure Harper could help you put together a core, I don't think even he knows how many components he has down in engineering," Trance told her.

Alura thanked them both.

Rommie, who had remained silent until that moment, asked, "Why doesn't your ship have an AI? When I scanned the ship, there were traces of an inactive one."

"I had to turn Danny off and store his backup in a plastic container so he wouldn't be erased. I can't reinstall him until the ship is running again."

"Danny?" echoed Rommie.

"Short for Dance Among the Stars," Alura explained.

"Well," Dylan said, "Rommie and Rhade, the two of you should get back to the bridge. Tell Beka that Trance and I are getting Alura settled."

Rommie and Rhade acknowledged Dylan's orders and left the hangar bay. Dylan turned to Alura and smiled.

"Why don't you get your things from the ship, we'll find you a room, and then Trance and I can give you the grand tour."

"Thank you, Dylan."

Alura went into the Dance quickly and got the bag she had already prepared for this eventuality. Passing a hand over the trunk she would have to have help with, she glanced around the area, making sure there weren't any obvious clues anywhere as to where she had built the Dance and where she had lived since she was fourteen. There were none, and she sighed with relief. She didn't know how anyone in this ship would react to that knowledge, and she didn't know them well enough yet to risk it.

"Ready?" Dylan asked when she came back out.

"Yes, there's a trunk and my plants that will need to come out, but this is all I need for now," she answered.

Dylan smiled and glanced at Trance, "Is an affinity for plants part and parcel of being an Avatar?"

Trance smiled, "Most of us like plants."

"We'll have Andromeda send some of her bots to get your other things once we've found you a room," Dylan told Alura.

"Thank you again, Dylan," Alura said sincerely.

"You're very welcome, now, on with the tour."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** _Italics _signify thought or emphasis.

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Trance watched her daughter as the three of them walked down the hall away from the hangar and toward the main part of the Andromeda. The younger woman was taller than Trance by a few inches, almost matching Dylan in height. Alura had a way of moving that reminded Trance of Dylan. Confident and measured. It wasn't the serenity of an Avatar who knew her chosen path. Rather, Dylan and Alura were a study in economy of movement, strides long and strong without either one of them using enough energy to tire themselves.

It had taken Trance awhile to train herself to keep up with Dylan as they walked the halls together. She still had to jog to keep up if he were in any sort of a hurry, even when he was just walking quickly. Had Alura gone through some form of military training? That could explain why they had the same bearing, but what about the similarity in the airs? It wasn't quite arrogance, but it came close. Could it be the air of command?

Alura had built her own ship, which meant she had to have a significant amount of money, especially to build a ship as nice as the Dance and be able to afford the programming of an AI. Had she earned her money as the Captain of a transport or warship? What system's military paid that well? The current member-planets of the Commonwealth certainly didn't.

Knowing it was useless to wish she could see into Alura's reality, Trance turned her full attention back to the present.

"Down this hall is the obs deck to the right and the mess to the left. If you go straight through the mess, you'll reach the kitchen. Most of the meals we eat come from the organic replicators, but we do occasionally have fresh food onboard that everyone is allowed to share."

When Dylan stopped for a breath, Trance butted in, "Many of my plants used to be in obs, you can put yours there if they don't fit in your room."

"Used to be?" Alura echoed.

"They have found homes all around the ship and with various crew members. And some of them are on the Maru."

Alura nodded her understanding.

They had reached the guest room corridor, and Dylan gestured along the length of the hallway.

"You can have any one of these rooms, they're all empty."

Alura took a step toward the closest one.

"That's one of the smaller ones," Dylan informed her. "Why don't you use one of the suites? I don't think we'll be needing them for dignitaries anytime soon."

"Small is fine. I'd like to be at this end of the hall so I'm close to the obs deck. I'd like to do my morning exercises there, if that's all right?"

"It's fine," Dylan assured. "Trance and I are the only ones who really use it unless we have an official gathering in celebration of something. Andromeda, please key guestroom 318 to Alura. Grant her complete access to the room for the foreseeable future."

A beep in the general vicinity of the room's door signaled Andromeda's fulfillment of the order. Dylan led the way into the room. It was a small one. It was actually two rooms, the bedroom and the bathroom. The bedroom was furnished with a single-size bed, a small table, one chair, and a closet. Alura set her bag on the table and turned back toward them.

"This is perfect, thank you. Shall we finish the tour before I start unpacking?"

Dylan gestured with one arm for the two women to proceed him back out of the room. Alura went first and Trance gave him a dazzling grateful smile before following. Trance turned back at the doorway when she didn't hear Dylan following them. He was still standing where he had been, staring at the place she had been when she smiled at him. A small smile was on his face and he appeared to be lost in thought.

"Are you sure that room will be big enough for you, Alura?" she asked, loud enough to snap Dylan out of his reverie.

"It's fine," Alura answered, adding under her breath but loud enough for Trance to hear her, "and it's only temporary."

Trance frowned at the thought. Where would Alura go once she fixed the Dance and left the Andromeda? There was nothing in this reality for her to go back to that Trance knew about, and even if there was something she didn't know about, how could it exist when Alura was from not only a different reality but a different time as well?

It seemed Dylan's thoughts were along the same track, for he asked, "Where will you go when your ship is fixed?"

Alura looked surprised at the question. It took her a minute to answer, and Trance realized she probably hadn't thought much beyond saving them from the Magog threat.

"I don't really know yet." Alura shrugged. "I suppose I'll try to find more ways to fight the Magog and the Abyss, anything to make Light the victor in the coming war."

Dylan corrected, "Don't you mean the continuing war?"

Alura laughed briefly, "I guess I do, where I came from the war was pretty much over, there was no one left who was powerful enough to fight the Abyss. I was trying to acclimate myself to the current point in time, I guess I overcompensated."

"I can see how it might be difficult," Dylan remarked dryly.

The three of them continued walking, going down two levels in the process. Trance was only slightly surprised when Alura went down the ladders the same way as Dylan, sliding down the outside edges instead of using the rungs.

"This is engineering, I apologize in advance for Mr. Harper," Dylan said when they reached their next destination. "But once he gets passed flirting, he'll be able to help you more than anyone else on this ship when it comes to anything mechanical."

"Thanks for the warning," Alura said softly.

It wasn't immediately obvious where Harper was, but a soft _thud_ under what looked like the shell of an ancient Earth rocket alerted them to his location. He slid out from under the object, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh, hey boss," Harper said, his gaze falling first on Dylan. "You know, I think that EM pulse idea could be used to our advantage. I could rig the rocket to... " Harper trailed off momentarily, spotting Alura next. "Oh, come on, isn't changing colors once enough for you, Trance, I was just getting used to the red and gold you." Harper's eyes flicked to Trance. "Wait a minute." His gaze swung back to Alura. "You're not Trance, and what are those?" He gestured to her bone blades and made a face. "You're an _uber_?"

Instead of being mad at the hostile question, Alura looked amused.

"Mr. Harper, if any Nietzschean heard you call a half-breed like me an uber they'd be very insulted. In fact, I would be very careful how you refer to me around Lieutenant Rhade or any other Nietzscheans onboard."

"There are no other Nietzscheans on the Andromeda," Dylan supplied.

Alura sighed, Trance was sure it was with relief, and nodded.

"So, you're _half-_Nietzschean?" Harper asked for clarification. "Was that you in the ship that intercepted the EM Wave?"

"Yes and yes. My name is Alura. I'm Trance's daughter."

Harper's mouth fell open and stayed that way.

"Harper," Trance said gently, "she traveled across time and into another reality to save us from the Magog. She needs your help to replace her ship's core."

"The power core," Alura clarified. "I turned off what I could, but the core was zapped by the EM wave. I may have to replace slipstream as well, I'm not sure it powered down completely before the wave hit. I wouldn't suggest playing around with an EM weapon idea. It took a whole team to safely assemble the one I used, and it still wouldn't have worked separate from the ship. It draws a lot of power and I've never heard of one that didn't require someone to physically trigger it."

Harper smiled sheepishly. "I guess it would be really bad if I wiped the power on the Andromeda while I was trying to build one."

Dylan shot Harper a stern look, "Mr. Harper, you are not to try. That's an order."

"Sure, boss," Harper said half-absently, already moving on to the next thing. "I assume since your ship is so unique your core is not the standard?"

"No," Alura answered. "It isn't standard at all. But seeing what you have in here, you may have all the parts we'd need to build a new one."

Alura and Harper started talking in technical terms, and Trance tuned them out. She walked several steps away, Dylan following. She turned for a moment to watch one of her dearest friends and her daughter bond over something she had absolutely no head for.

"She must have gotten that from her father," Trance murmured, not realizing she had said it aloud until Dylan responded.

"Yes, but she obviously got her heart and her beauty from her mother."

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**Preview:** The next chapter will wrap up the tour and we'll learn a little more about Alura (only a little though - evil laugh).


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **_Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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Dylan did not feel that the compliment he had given both Alura and Trance was inappropriate. Trance had given him hope so many times without asking for anything in return that he couldn't help wanting to comfort her when she sounded so wistful about Alura being like her mysterious father and not like her. Though it remained to be seen if Alura was truly as good a woman as Trance, Trance was indeed, all heart. And Alura had saved them from the Magog with great risk to her own life.

And both women were beautiful. It was fact, nothing more. He had always been aware of Trance's physical perfection, but when she was purple she had seemed so young. Not to mention that she was a member of his crew and therefore under his protection and slightly off-limits. And when she had switched places with herself, leaving red-and-gold Trance on the Andromeda, it had taken him a little while to trust her again. But with all they had been through in the past couple years and with Trance revealing herself to him; she had earned his complete trust and respect.

In some ways, knowing what she was had made her seem beyond him. Like she wasn't meant to walk the same path as a lowly mortal like him. But living proof that she was very "human" was discussing field polarities with Harper not ten feet away. If Trance could've had Alura with a Nietzschean, it stood to reason that she could live a "normal" life with another species as well. Maybe someday he'd ask her about it.

Trance was the only person on the Andromeda that he trusted beyond the shadow of a doubt. The others could be swayed by the hope of treasure or thoughts of their own survival, or fall victim to the control of the Abyss as Beka had already done once, and of course he didn't know Alura well enough to judge her yet, but Trance was his Light. What exactly that meant for the future of their relationship should this war ever be over and the Commonwealth restored to what it was meant to be, he didn't know. What he did know was that he would do anything in his power to keep her happy and by his side until he figured it out.

"Thank you, Dylan," Trance responded softly.

He knew that she knew him well enough not to read any more into the remark than he had meant. Somehow, she had always understood him better than anyone else. And she did frequently display rather powerful empathic abilities.

"You're welcome, Trance."

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Alura rejoined Trance and Dylan, Harper trailing after her. They had discussed all they could until she was able to fully assess all the damages to the Dance, and Harper had other duties to take care of that would, of course, come first. But Alura was hopeful that they'd be able to build a replacement core without having to put the Andromeda and her crew in danger by stopping at a repair drift that would leave them exposed and alert others to their location.

"Uh, Boss?" Harper began tentatively.

"Yes, Mr. Harper?" Dylan responded, the "Mr." letting Harper know that he wasn't off the hook yet.

"I just wanted to apologize about before, I had no idea we were in danger or that it would be as quick as it ended up being to fix the slipstream. I really am sorry, boss."

"That's alright, Harper," Dylan conceded. "I know how good a motivator the Magog are for you. It worked out okay in the end, and all of us being safe is what really matters in the long run."

"Thanks, boss."

Harper grinned before grabbing a flexie off a nearby workbench and heading out the door.

"Shall we?" Dylan asked, again allowing the two women to exit the room before him.

Alura knew that Trance and Dylan were watching her every move, trying to figure her out. The truth was, she was doing the same thing. She didn't really know that much about them other than things her father had told her, and considering the fact that Trance was her mother, it really was a shame. It was also strange to meet two people that she immediately trusted as fully as she trusted them. Dylan was a Champion of the Light, and Trance was, well, Trance. If there was anyone in the universe she should trust it was these two. But for someone who had never trusted easily, the feeling was still an odd one.

As they moved more toward the front of the ship and up five levels, more people moved around the halls and corridors. Evidently Dylan had been telling her the truth. She saw no other Nietzscheans. She got some strange looks from a few of the humans, but most just glanced at her and went back to their business. Alura supposed it was because new races were being discovered by each other all the time. Trance having been on board longer than anyone other than Dylan probably helped as well. Since she had already changed colors once, what was to say her species didn't come in an array of colors?

Alura almost laughed at the thought of a rainbow of Avatars all standing in a row. She had met a male Avatar once; he had been a pale shade of green with the most shocking orange hair. But he had not asked her to leave with him because of how strong her Nietzschean side was. She was woefully under-taught in the ways of the Avatars, but she was pretty sure they were a generally solitary race, some of them observers of other humanoid species. She wasn't sure how many were like Trance, actively involved in the course of Fate, but she knew it wasn't many, if any at all, other than her mother.

They finally reached the bridge, and Alura stopped letting her mind wander.

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Trance glanced around the bridge, noting that Rommie and Rhade were back at their posts. When the three of them walked into the room, Rhade and Beka glanced their way. Rhade immediately smiled at Alura, but though she was sure her daughter had seen the greeting, Alura did not respond to it, averting her eyes. Beka, as usual, was a little more vocal.

"What the hell is going on?" she blurted. "Please tell me that's not another Trance. Changing colors is one thing, but becoming a different species is another entirely. It was weird enough when you lost your tail."

"Beka, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Alura. She'll be staying on the Andromeda until she and Harper can get her ship fixed."

"Hey," Beka said simply.

"Captain Valentine," Alura responded calmly. "Thank you for destroying those Magog. That was an excellent display of shooting."

Beka's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How did you know that was me? It could have been any of us. The Andromeda could have done it herself."

Alura's shoulders lifted slightly and fell. "It was a logical assumption. You are standing at the primary weapons console and there was something... _human_ about the counterattack."

Beka made a noise that noted her acceptance of Alura's explanation and the bridge was silent for a few moments. Dylan cleared his throat and moved to the security station where Rhade was standing.

"Rhade, you're relieved. Thank you for staying on duty the extra fifteen minutes until I could get back to the bridge."

"Of course, Captain," the Nietzchean replied. On his way off the bridge, he stopped in front of Alura, who was still standing beside Trance. "It was a pleasure meeting you, and thank you for your earlier assistance. I'm sure I'll be seeing you in the corridors."

Unlike when he had smiled at her, this was too direct an interaction for Alura to ignore. To Trance's consternation, all her daughter did was nod. Rhade looked slightly wounded, but he smiled politely and continued on his way.

"Alura, if you ever need directions while on the Andromeda, just ask the AI. I'll have to ask you to leave the bridge now, but feel free to come and find me if you ever need anything."

"Thank you, Dylan, for everything," Alura answered.

"I'll walk you back to your room," Trance said.

Dylan glanced at her and a silent communication passed between them. Anything Trance learned about her daughter she would share with him.

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Trance and Alura had only just left the bridge when the silence was broken.

"Dylan?"

"Yes, Beka?"

"How did she know this was the primary weapons control? Was she raised on the Andromeda in her reality?"

"No," Dylan frowned thoughtfully. "She said this was the first time she had met me and that she had been raised planet-side."

"Don't you find that a little suspicious?"

"A little. But I'm sure she'll tell us more when she's ready."

"Dylan, I am all for looking for the good in people..."

"Since when?" Rommie couldn't help interrupting.

The android struggled not to smirk when Dylan tried to hide a snort of laughter. Beka was always suspicious of people she didn't know. From past experiences, Rommie thought it would be a better use of Beka's paranoia to not trust the people she _did_ know.

Beka ignored them both, "... but we can't afford to trust the wrong people, especially now that the Commonwealth has a price on our head."

"She just saved our lives," Dylan pointed out. "Until she does something more questionable than knowing the layout of the Andromeda's bridge, I intend to give her the benefit of the doubt."

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"Alura?"

The taller woman stopped and looked at Trance.

"Did Telemachus do something in your reality to make you dislike him?"

"No," Alura shook her head. "I've never really met any members of the crew before today. I don't have anything against any of them, it's just..."

Alura trailed off, and Trance took another shot at a guess.

"Did your father's Pride look down on the Nietzscheans of Terazed?"

Alura sighed heavily. "I know you're curious about my father, and me, but things that happened in my reality don't have any impact on this one. I may never be willing to talk about my past, and I'm sorry if that puts a damper on any relationship I might have with anyone on this ship, but that's how it is."

Trance frowned thoughtfully. "I'm sorry you feel that way. Your past is part of who you are, but I look forward to getting to know you better, even if I only know you from this point on."

"Thank you for not pushing it. I may someday be ready, but right now I don't see it happening." Alura paused for a moment and began hesitantly, "I suppose I should apologize to the Lieutenant Commander for my rudeness."

Trance smiled, "I'm sure he'll appreciate that. The Andromeda can help you find him."

"Thank you."

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Alura watched her mother walk back in the direction of the bridge. She steeled herself and requested, "Andromeda, please locate Telemachus Rhade."

"Telemachus Rhade is currently in his quarters," the holographic Andromeda replied, appearing in the hall next to Alura. "Would you like me to show you the way?"

"Yes, thank you."

Alura studied the holograph as she walked, wondering what Danny would think of it. There were a handful of bots on the Dance, but an android of Danny had never been built. Danny was a much more technologically sophisticated holograph and he had never had the desire to be bound to an android form. He wasn't translucent like the Andromeda's holograph unless he wanted to be and at his highest settings, those termed hard light, he could interact fully with physical items, that was more than enough for him.

The holograph stopped moving and Alura stopped as well.

"These are Rhade's quarters," the holograph reported. "Let me know if you need directions back to your room when you're done."

Before Alura could thank her, the holograph was gone. Alura took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A few moments later it slid open and Alura found herself staring at Telemachus' chest. A tank top that was more of a second skin than a shirt clung to every angle, swell and dip of his well-formed body. He must have been in the middle of changing out of his uniform.

Both of Telemachus' eyebrows rose when she looked into his face, and Alura suddenly realized she hadn't said anything yet.

"May I come in?" she asked, the words coming easier than she had expected them to.

Telemachus looked surprised but motioned her into the room. Alura stepped into a sitting room more spacious than her entire quarters. There was a desk in one corner with several flexies on it. She could see that some of them were holo-novels. There were also several shelves of personal trinkets on the walls, a few paper books among them, and a small sofa and a chair with the requisite coffee table. Several plants completed the décor and made her feel almost at home. Alura wondered if they had all once been her mother's.

"Sit down," Telemachus offered.

Alura perched on the edge of the sofa. Telemachus sat in the chair, his muscular arms resting lightly on the arms of the chair.

He motioned to the organic replicator on the far wall, "Would you like something to eat or drink?"

"No, thank you," Alura answered. "I actually just came to apologize and explain my behavior."

Telemachus' eyebrows rose again, but he didn't say anything.

"I was rude, and I'm very sorry. I tend to go on the offensive around Nietzscheans, it has nothing to do with you personally."

"I thought you told Trance that your father raised you? Wasn't he a good father?"

"Not entirely," she admitted. "He wasn't really a hands on kind of father for the greater portion of my life. He left me in the care of other Nietzscheans most of the time and they didn't appreciate the duty."

"Did they mistreat you?"

Telemachus sounded angry on her behalf and the very idea washed any remaining doubts she had about him away. He wasn't anything like most of the Nietzscheans she had ever met. From now on she would think of him as a man, not just a Nietzschean.

"Not overtly while my father was around. But I was treated like what I am, a half-breed." Telemachus frowned deeply at the negative term, but Alura finished her explanation. "When my father died, I was sold into slavery. A Nietzschean bought me and I was often treated worse than his human slaves. Luckily, a human bought me from him two years later and freed me. But since then, I have found it very difficult to not expect every Nietzschean I meet to immediately hate me."

"I'm sorry," Telemachus said simply when she was done.

Alura smiled and got up. "There's no need for you to apologize. I just wanted to let you know that I didn't really mean to be rude. Thank you for giving me the chance to explain."

"Of course."

Alura turned back at the door. "I'm sure we'll run into each other."

"I look forward to it," Telemachus answered, and this time it was Alura that was surprised.

Alura smiled and left the room before the silence could be become awkward.

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**A/N:** In case you haven't been able to tell by now, any time I refer to "the ship made flesh" android, she's always "Rommie." The holographic version is labeled as such and the ship itself is called the Andromeda or Andromeda Ascendant. Hopefully I'm doing it in a way that isn't too confusing! Also, remember that anytime I refer to an Avatar, I am ONLY referring to Trance's race, never Rommie.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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After completing his morning rituals of washing up and stretching, Telemachus Rhade formulated a plan to move ahead in his decision to learn more about the newest member of the Andromeda's crew. It had been a week since Alura had saved them from the Magog. She had settled in quickly, the disruption to the way that things had been done in the months he had been onboard minimal. She wasn't an official member of the crew, but she occasionally helped Harper with engineering problems, and she often worked with her mother in the medical bay.

The only time she had sought him out had been when she had delivered her startling apology. She had only been on the bridge once when Dylan had given her the grand tour of the Andromeda, and Telemachus occasionally wished she had been given a task to accomplish there so he could see her more often. As it was, they sometimes passed in the halls and were usually in the mess for meals at the same time. There was no way he would be able to get closer to her if things continued this way. Telemachus decided it was best not to examine his immediate and strong need to know her better.

"Andromeda, please locate Alura."

"Alura is currently on the observation deck," the usually stoic holographic female reported.

Telemachus raised an inquiring eyebrow at the perplexed look on the AI's face.

"It is unusual for someone to be in my systems that has only one name."

Telemachus smirked. "What about yourself?"

"No. I am the Andromeda Ascendant. Two names. My android is listed as Rommie Harper."

"Mr. Harper's idea?" Telemachus asked.

"Yes. I have been meaning to ask Dylan to change that."

"Well, if it really bothers you, you can always list her as Alura Gemini. She is Trance's daughter after all."

Andromeda nodded thoughtfully. "I will ask Trance if she would not mind."

"Oh, and Andromeda, be careful about changing how the android is listed. Harper might 'accidentally' make one of your systems go haywire."

The holograph grimaced her understanding and disappeared, and Telemachus left his quarters, heading in the direction of the observation deck. He wondered for a moment if he should have asked the AI if Alura was alone, but then dismissed the notion. Trance and Dylan were the only ones who really used the room other than in an official capacity, and they were both on duty right now, Dylan on the bridge and Trance in medical.

The observation deck had a door that only shut in emergencies such as a hull breach, so he walked right through the large arch that made up the doorway. Telemachus paused a few feet into the room to study the woman before him. She was dressed in a black cotton tank top and slightly loose fitting black cotton pants. Her feet were bare, and he was fascinated to note that her toenails were silver, just as her fingernails were. Her dark blue hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She was standing with her feet shoulder width apart, her knees slightly bent. Her body was turned slightly away from him, her head turned to her right.

Alura's right arm was extended straight out from her shoulder, her palm perpendicular to the floor. Slowly, her left hand journeyed across and beyond the front of her torso in a pushing motion to join her right hand. Together, her two hands rose above her head and then faced each other to push down and outward until they reached waist level. He continued to watch her slow, graceful movements until her soft voice reminded him that he was not the only one in the room with a Nietzschean's heightened sense of awareness.

"It's impolite to stare," she told him, a hint of humor lacing her voice.

Telemachus ignored the accusation, as he was sure Alura meant him to. "What are you doing?"

Alura dropped her arms and turned to look at him. "Exercises to focus my mind and body. It's a variation of Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese martial art form from Earth. But it doesn't really work when I'm being watched."

"I apologize," he said, dipping his head in a small bow. "I will leave you to it."

"No."

Telemachus looked askance at her and thought he saw her blush, the slight warming purple against the light blue of her cheeks. It was most becoming.

"I meant that there is no need. I could not concentrate even before you came in. Someone used to do the routine with me. I haven't been able to achieve perfect focus since I've been on my own..."

"You're not alone now," he interrupted.

A muscle jumped in her jaw and she would not meet his gaze. When she simply shrugged, he decided to let it go for now.

"I simply meant that I will leave if you would like to use the room yourself," she finished.

"Actually, I came to ask if you would like to spar with me."

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It was Alura's turn to dip her head, and when she looked up at him, her eyes were happy. "I would be honored."

Nietzscheans, especially the males, did not offer to practice with other races. They were, of course, very serious about staying in shape, and what good would come of sparring with a member of a lesser race? Even one who was part Nietzschean? Once the bloodline was polluted, you were no longer considered a true Nietzschean. Some looked at it as even worse, an abomination, something not meant to exist. There weren't very many part-Nietzscheans, and those not terminated before birth or killed right after were usually sold into slavery, treated even worse than the kludges, ordinary humans. Even her teachers had refused to work directly with her, recruiting human slaves to do the exercises with her instead. Her father had never objected. Sometimes she had wondered why he hadn't killed her when she was born.

Telemachus hesitated, and Alura's eyes clouded over. She had thought he was different. Had she been wrong? Had he just remembered what she was? Looking down at her blue-and-silver-skinned hands, she didn't see how it was possible to forget.

"Could you teach me first?"

Her head came back up. What could she possibly teach him that he would want to learn?

"Tai chi?" she asked.

Telemachus nodded. "Perhaps if you had someone to do it with, you could once again achieve your focus. We can do a trade. Before each of my duty shifts, we can combat train for an hour and practice Tai Chi for another hour."

"I would like that very much, if you're sure it wouldn't be too much trouble."

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Telemachus wondered again about Alura's father. Had the man, whoever he was, truly treated her like a second class citizen, or worse? From all of his observations thus far, he was sure it was true. And what about her mother? The Trance Gemini he knew would not let anyone be treated that way, let alone her own flesh and blood. Alura was an amazing woman, no matter what race she was, and he was determined that she would soon believe it herself. But something told him to go slow with her, to let her accept things in her own time.

Realizing she was still waiting for an answer, Telemachus smiled. "I believe we will both benefit from this."

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Alura walked to her room, lost in thought. Telemachus had given her his duty schedule an hour ago and they had agreed to start their arrangement the next day. In a way, she was nervous. She had worked out nearly every day of her life, but she hadn't sparred with a Nietzschean since before her father had died. She had only been eleven at the time. Was she good enough to keep up with Telemachus? She could only wait until tomorrow to find out.

"Alura!"

Alura blinked and stopped walking. Someone had been calling her, more than once she was sure. She turned around and smiled gently when Harper caught up, slightly out of breath. She must have been walking very fast.

"Yes, Harper?"

Harper held out a flexie to her and she took it. On it were plans to block off some of Andromeda's memory from her main systems to enable them to activate another AI without risking the second AI taking over the ship.

"Rom Doll thought you might be able to better check the damages to the Dance if Danny could help her with the scanning," he said when he caught his breath.

"Thanks, Harper, but there's no need to use any of Andromeda's systems for that. Danny has an emitter that works separate from the Dance. I was just waiting for a better time for you to help me, you've been so busy this week."

Harper made a sweeping gesture with his arm as they started walking down the hall again. "Thanks to you, I'm all caught up, at least until the next disaster. Everything else is just special projects I work on when I have the time. We could get started now if you want."

Alura nodded, "Okay, we'll just swing by my room and pick up Danny first."

Harper nodded and slid the flexie into a pocket of his pants. "What had you so caught up before?"

"I'm supposed to begin training with Telemachus tomorrow and I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up."

"Nietzscheans," Harper muttered. "No offense."

It was not the first negative remark she had heard him utter about Telemachus or Nietzscheans in general.

"You grew up on Earth, didn't you?" Alura asked, suddenly remembering the main reason Harper didn't get along too well with Nietzscheans.

"Yeah, after the Magog killed or made incubators out of most of my family and friends, the Drago-Katzoff enslaved the rest."

They had reached her room and Harper followed her inside.

"You must not have been a personal slave," she commented as she opened a drawer under the bed, pulling out a device about the size of her palm.

"Nah, I was a worker. How did you know?" he asked.

She peeled back the edge of her right leather gauntlet at the wrist, revealing a scar that could only have come from the manacles worn by a household slave. The scar was a solid line occasionally marred by dots and slashes that came from the metal wires and spikes inside the outwardly pretty cuffs that were tightened by a remote button whenever the slaves' master felt like punishing them.

"You were a slave?" Harper asked in shock.

Alura nodded, "I was sold after my father died. If you think that's bad, you should see the scars on my back."

"I can't believe you were a personal slave and you're still making friends with Rhade. I don't know how I'd stand being on the same ship as him if I were in your place."

Household slaves took the brunt of hatred and abuse from their masters since their work wasn't as physically difficult as that of workers. If someone limped or could only see through one swollen eye, it wasn't as detrimental to the workforce if all they were doing was cleaning and cooking.

"Telemachus doesn't own slaves," Alura said gently. "He doesn't really look down on humans, either, otherwise he wouldn't be on this ship."

"You have a point there," Harper relented. "But if he does ever hurt you, let me know and I'll... well, I'll have Dylan beat him up for you."

Alura laughed and Harper smiled. The sound was infectious, a lot like Trance's laugh. But he hadn't heard his dear friend laugh in a very long time. Not since she had been young and purple.

"Did you ever have a tail?" Harper asked suddenly.

Alura laughed again. "No, I have always been as I am now. I should stay this way since I'm only half Avatar."

"Just thought I'd ask. Your mother used to love her tail and I've always been afraid to ask her what happened to it."

Alura smiled. "She outgrew it. The future she came back from was very violent and having a tail would have only gotten in the way, so she willingly chose not to include that attribute in her transformation into a full adult."

"How do you know all this? Do Avatars just know how it works?"

"I don't know if they do," Alura shrugged. "I'm not a full Avatar so I don't have the same abilities."

"Then how did you know about Trance? I thought in your reality she never stopped being purple."

Alura grinned. "I asked her."

Harper rolled his eyes. "Is that the emitter?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go check out the Dance." Harper paused. "Was it just me or did that sound like something from an ancient Earth teenie bopper movie?"

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Alura laughed again as Harper had hoped she would. They talked as they walked, Harper pleased to find that Alura knew a lot about ancient Earth pop culture. When he asked her where she got her information, she told him about the man who had bought her from her Nietzschean master and freed her. Hank had been from Earth, too, and had been obsessed with anything to do with it from before the time that Nietzscheans had existed and other species were known about.

They reached the hangar and walked over to the Dance, picking up flashlights Harper had already placed outside the open door in the Dance's side. Harper turned on his light, but Alura simply moved easily through the dim interior, obviously completely confident of every inch of her ship. Within a couple minutes they were in the room that housed the power core.

Alura set the emitter down and pressed a button at the bottom. The figure of a human male appeared in front of them, dressed much as Alura was. All in black with no insignia or other design that would help identify where he was from. Harper was surprised to note that he couldn't see through Danny. He was decidedly modeled after a human, which somehow didn't surprise Harper. Danny was average looking, about the same height as Alura with blue eyes and light brown hair. He also perpetually looked as if he were about to laugh. The holograph smiled at Alura.

"Glad to see you made it out of that mess, C..."

"Danny!" Alura barked. In a calmer tone, she continued, "May I introduce Seamus Harper, chief engineer of the Andromeda Ascendant."

"The Dance Among the Stars," Danny said with a flourish. "Are you going to help her get me up and running again?"

"That's the plan," Harper answered. "What were you going to call her?"

Alura sent Danny a stern glance.

Danny's blue eyes danced. "Captain, of course, what else would I call her? I guess now that it's just me and her she doesn't want me to be so formal. Is that it, Alura? "

"Mm-hm," Alura murmured. "Now, Danny, we need you to check the extent of the damage. Am I going to have to replace slipstream or did it turn off in time? Are there any other systems that need more than just the power turned back on?"

The holograph gave an almost human sigh. "Give me a minute."

Danny became translucent and a small connector attached itself from the emitter to the control panel Alura had set it on. Exactly one minute later, the metal data transfer wire zipped back into the emitter. Danny became solid looking again and smiled once more.

"Good news, only the power core appears shot. As soon as you build me a new one and rip the old one out, along with that EM converter, I should be running just fine."

Alura sighed and smiled. "Good, now turn back off, we don't want to fry your emitter with you still in it."

"The Divine forbid," Danny said. He waved and disappeared.

"Why did he go translucent when he was scanning the system?" Harper asked as they made their way back out of the ship.

"It takes a lot of power for him to appear corporeal. The emitter's power supply can only handle so much at once."

Harper nodded. "I don't suppose you were the one who built the emitter?"

Alura shook her head. "No, that I had to pay someone else to do. Cost a lot, too. I do have a spare you can take apart if you want."

"Seriously?"

They were off the Dance now and had returned the flashlights to a locker in the corner of the hangar.

"Consider it the payment for helping me with the power core. I would like it back when you're done, of course."

"Thanks."

"Sure," Alura said. "I'll bring it to the mess at dinner."

"Okay, I'll see you then."

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**Preview:** The crew of the Andromeda talk about their guest and Alura and Telemachus wrestle ;) !


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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Dylan waited until Harper was seated before he began the meeting. Beka, Rhade, Rommie and Trance were all present. The subject of the meeting was Alura. She had now been on the Andromeda for a week, and Dylan wanted to know how everyone was getting along with her. He had already spoken to the Commonwealth members of the crew who were still onboard, and none of them had any complaints.

Few of them had really interacted with her, with the exception of one of the slipfighter pilots, an Ensign by the name of Alicia Kenyon. Kenyon had noticed an herb among Alura's plants and requested a few leaves for a dish she was planning to cook. Alura had obliged and Kenyon had shared the resulting meal with her. The two had evidently spoken at length about flying among other things, and Kenyon reported that she believed Alura could be an asset to the crew on a permanent level.

Dylan cleared his throat and asked, "Does anyone want to start?"

Harper leaned forward in his chair. "Alura's okay in my book."

"Of course, she is," Beka remarked. "As pretty as she is. Have you made a move yet?"

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," Harper responded immediately. "She knows a lot about engineering and she helps me whenever I ask her to. Besides, that would be too weird, she's Trance's daughter. It would be like dating my niece or something."

"Since you brought that up, do we really know that she is Trance's daughter?" Beka asked.

Trance said softly, "Alura has never lied to us. There are things she doesn't want to tell us, but she's never lied. She is my daughter."

Beka nodded. She knew as well as anyone that Trance could always tell when someone was telling the truth.

"So the fact that she's a Nietzschean doesn't bother you?" Rhade asked Harper.

Harper looked sheepish for a second. "It did at first, but I don't really see her as a Nietzschean anymore, she's just Alura now. No one who was a personal slave for two years could possibly be a Nietzschean in my eyes."

"She was a personal slave?" Rhade asked at the same time that Trance asked, "She was a slave?"

Dylan broke in, "Rhade, why don't you tell us what you know about this first."

"All she told me was that she had been sold to a Nietzschean after her father died and was freed by a new, human owner two years later, and that was the reason she was standoffish with me the first day she was on board. She didn't go into detail."

"Harper?" Dylan prodded.

"Alura was a personal slave, a household slave. They're treated worse than workers, Boss. Much worse. She has the scars to prove it."

Trance looked disturbed and no one said anything for a minute while this information was absorbed.

"Beka," Dylan finally broke the silence. "You were the one that voiced concern when she first came onboard. Is there anything you'd like to add?"

Beka shook her head reluctantly. "I haven't interacted with her at all."

"Okay," Dylan said. "Rommie, anything you feel is worth noting?"

"Alura has a routine. She has since her second day onboard. She runs laps in the hangar her ship is being stored in every morning, works out on obs deck, and she spends hours a day with either Harper or Trance, helping them with their work. She has meals when the majority of the crew does. She occasionally asks me to locate Harper or Trance, but since she asked for directions to Rhade's quarters the first day, she hasn't needed any help finding her way around the ship."

"Doesn't anyone else find that odd when she wasn't raised here?" Beka asked.

"To be fair, Beka, she only goes a few places on the ship, and Dylan showed her where they all were the first day," Rommie answered.

"Rhade, Trance, anything you'd like to add?"

Rhade and Trance both shook their heads. Trance had yet to lose the worried look she had adopted when slavery had been brought up.

"Based on what's been said here and what the rest of the crew feels, I think we can continue Alura's trial period as a temporary member of the crew until we know more. Dismissed."

The others stood up.

"Harper, could you stay for a minute?" Trance asked.

Harper sat back down and Trance waited until she, Dylan and Harper were the only ones in the room.

"Have you started work on her core yet?"

"No," Harper answered. "We're supposed to start tomorrow, though."

"How long do you think it will take?" Dylan asked.

"A few days at the least. She hasn't given me the schematics yet, so that's really just a guess."

"Can you do me a favor, Harper?"

"Sure, Trance."

"Put off helping her for a little while. I'd like to have more time to get to know her and I'm not sure she'll stay once the Dance is fixed."

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Harper had left the room with a vague answer that he'd come up with something, and Trance and Dylan were alone.

"Are you okay, Trance?" Dylan asked, concern evident in his voice and on his face.

"I just can't believe she didn't tell me about that part of her life. We don't talk about her past at all, but I thought if she shared it with anyone, it would be me."

Dylan reached across the table and took one of Trance's hands in his. "It sounds to me as if she had a reason for telling Rhade and Harper. She couldn't give Rhade an apology without an explanation, and knowing Harper, he may have said something that made her realize knowing she was a slave as well would put him more at ease with her. According to the Andromeda's records, she spends more time with you than with anyone else."

"You're right," Trance said softly. She smiled and squeezed the hand that was holding hers. "Thank you, Dylan."

Dylan smiled back. Something sparked between their hands when Trance slowly pulled away, and their eyes met and held. Feeling herself flush at the warmth in Dylan's beautiful blue eyes, Trance reluctantly broke the gaze first and quickly left the room. It was a little odd to think that her daughter by another man kept bringing her closer to Dylan.

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Alura was already waiting at a table in the mess when Harper showed up for dinner. She smiled at him and he made his way over, sitting down across from her.

"Here's the emitter," she said, sliding the device, along with three flexies, across the table. "I thought you might need the information I have on it. The other two flexies are the advanced programming for Danny's holograph, if you want to update Andromeda's, and the schematics for the core."

Slipping the core schematic flexie into his pocket, Harper glanced at the info on the other two.

"Wow, there's a lot here." Reluctantly, he pushed both flexies and the emitter back across the table to her. "I can't accept these, I have more repairs to do on the Andromeda that I had forgotten about. I won't be able to start helping you with the core for at least a few days."

Alura looked disappointed, but she refused to take the items back. "You keep them. Whether we start tomorrow or a week from now, I was giving them to you beforehand anyhow."

"As long as you're sure," he hedged, wanting the info and the emitter so he could start playing with it.

"I'm sure."

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Trance was examining Alura's plants in obs late that night when Alura walked in. Alura had moved the plants there the morning after she had come onboard, and Trance knew there were more in her daughter's room. Trance turned her head and smiled. Alura smiled back and moved over to her mother. Trance pointed to one of the plants.

"That's a Vedran night-flowering cactus, isn't it? They're very rare."

"Yes," Alura answered. "My crew gave it to me for my birthday three years ago."

Alura wandered over to the huge window that made up one wall of the room, staring out into the expanse of the universe. Trance joined her after a minute, focusing her attention on the stars.

"Do you miss them?"

"Sometimes," Alura admitted softly. "I had a few friends among the crew, but even if we had still been together when I decided to come here, they couldn't have come with me."

"When did you last see them?"

"About two years ago. We were attacked by a swarm and had to abandon ship, I don't know how many of them made it."

"How did you get the Dance back?"

"The ship in the hangar isn't the first Dance Among the Stars. By that point attacks were a very regular occurrence and we had to stay prepared for the worst, so I already had Danny on his emitter. I transferred him to the new Dance when I was safe. The original ship was destroyed."

"It sounds as if you were lucky to escape with your life."

"I was," Alura murmured.

Alura sighed heavily and Trance realized something was bothering her daughter other than the unpleasant memories.

"Is something wrong, Alura?"

"I haven't been dreaming since I came onboard the Andromeda."

Trance continued to watch the stars, but her tone was worried. Avatars dreamt every time they slept. There were a handful of other half-Avatars out there, and as far as she knew, they had the same trait. "Has it ever happened before?"

"No." Alura sighed. "I've felt... different since I came here. But I do have a theory. I've just been too nervous to check on it."

Trance finally looked at Alura. The younger woman simply appeared to be a Nietzschean with interesting coloring and pointy ears. How had she missed it before? There was no hint of the extra something that allowed Avatars to recognize each other when they were in humanoid form when she looked at Alura.

"Does the window have a screen?" Alura asked.

"Yes," Trance answered, knowing now what her daughter needed to look for. "Where should it be?"

"Halfway between the Ringonni and Delfic systems."

"Andromeda, please display that portion of space."

The screen changed and Alura paled.

Pointing to a spot on the screen, she said, "It should be right there."

Trance frowned in worry. Her daughter's star didn't exist. Alura would not be able to tap into her Avatar side even if her need was dire. Trance was now more determined than ever that her daughter stay on the Andromeda. When a full Avatar's star died, the Avatar died as well. But no Avatar had ever gone where their star simply didn't exist.

There was no precedent that could tell them what might happen to Alura now. There was a chance that she would lose even the physical attributes of an Avatar that she still had and become fully Nietzschean. From what she had learned from Harper and Telemachus earlier that day, Trance didn't think Alura would be pleased if that were the case.

"That would explain it," Alura sighed.

A single tear ran down Alura's cheek and Trance felt her heart breaking. The worst-case scenario would mean that even now Alura was slowly dying, fading from existence. Trance took two steps closer and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Alura stiffened for a moment before melting into her embrace. Silent crying wracked Alura's body, and Trance made soothing noises while she stroked her daughter's hair.

"If you ever need me to, I will do whatever is in my power to help you."

Alura pulled away and wiped her face. She smiled sadly at Trance. "Thank you."

Trance nodded and watched as Alura left the room. Turning back to the screen, she ordered, "Andromeda, mark these coordinates for me. I may need them again."

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Alura lay the last mat down on the floor of the obs deck. Stretching quickly, she did a few handsprings across the area she had set up. So far, she seemed to be physically okay. She was embarrassed by her break down the night before in this same room, but she couldn't be sorry about it. She knew it had brought she and Trance closer together.

If somehow fate had been kind to her and she would survive not having an active Avatar half, Alura would now have to rely fully on her physical skills and intelligence. Combat training with Telemachus would be more important than she had previously credited it with being. Tai Chi, on the other hand, she would probably stop doing. She had always used it before to balance her two halves, but there was no need for that now.

Alura sighed when she remembered that she had promised to teach Telemachus how to do Tai Chi in return for his sparring with her. Perhaps it would help to ease her fears if she gave it a chance. It had been so long since it was effective that she just wasn't sure. But whatever personal benefit it provided or lacked, she would not go back on her word.

Keeping busy until Telemachus showed up, Alura watered her plants and trimmed a few dead leaves. She had just put away her gardening tools when Telemachus sauntered in.

"You're early," he remarked upon seeing her already in the room and set up when there were still five minutes until the time they had agreed to meet.

Alura shrugged, "Couldn't sleep."

Telemachus nodded and took off his sweater, laying it aside. Walking onto the mat after kicking his shoes off, Telemachus stretched for a few minutes. Alura watched him, enjoying the play of muscles in his arms and chest shown to advantage by another tank top. She noted that like her he was dressed in dark clothes that allowed full movement without risk to seams. He, however, had left his socks on. Alura loved being barefoot. She had often amused her crew unintentionally by not wearing socks and shoes when she wasn't on duty.

Telemachus finished stretching and turned to her, "Do you want to start with Tai Chi or sparring?"

"Sparring," she answered immediately.

Telemachus took a fighter's stance and Alura cautiously moved toward him. When he immediately threw a right-handed jab at her head, she dodged it. A second punch was also dodged, but this time he surprised her by sweeping her feet out from under her with his left leg. A second later he was straddling her stomach, her arms pinned above her head by his hands.

"Maybe I should go a little easy on you," Telemachus smirked down at her.

Alura narrowed her eyes and twisted her body, successfully dislodging him from on top of her. Both standing once again, they traded a series of kicks and punches before Alura learned his rhythm.

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Despite his comment, Telemachus had not eased up on her any. He thought he had landed a punch to her midsection when he suddenly found himself on the ground. Somehow she had trapped his left arm under his own body, and her left hand was pinning his right arm to the mat. The bone blades of her right arm were pressing into his neck.

"Still think you need to go easy on me?" she asked, her blue eyes sparkling with exhilaration and a touch of anger.

Telemachus grinned. He hadn't had this much fun in awhile.

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**Preview:** Harper struggles with his conscience, and the Andromeda and her crew run into trouble.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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"Harper, please stop pacing, you're going to wear holes in my floor," Rommie said dryly.

"Sorry, Rom Doll," Harper answered. He hoisted himself up onto one of his workbenches, studying the schematics on the flexie in his hand. "I just feel so bad about not fixing Alura's ship. The stuff she gave me is worth way more than a measly power core."

"Why _aren't_ you fixing the Dance?" Rommie asked.

Harper looked at the android. Despite the fact that the AIs of ships were not supposed to become connected to their crews, Rommie regarded he, Dylan, Trance and Beka as family more than crew. Alura had not been on board long enough yet to earn Rommie's loyalty, but Trance certainly had. Whose side would Rommie take in his dilemma?

"Trance doesn't want the ship fixed yet because she thinks Alura will leave when it's done, and she still wants to get to know Alura better."

"Why doesn't she just ask Alura to stay?"

"I don't know, Rommie. It might have something to do with the fact that Alura told Rhade and me more about her past than she told Trance."

Rommie tilted her head. "What did you tell Alura about the repairs?"

"That I had more repairs to do on you that I'd forgotten about. Of course, if she offers to help, which I know she will, I'll have to find something for her to do that's more important than her core."

"And the information she gave you is really worth a lot?"

Harper jumped down from the workbench and picked up the two other flexies Alura had given him, waving all three in the air to gesture emphatically.

"Oh, yeah, this stuff is fantastic. Even with the basic ideas to get me started, it would have taken me awhile to work out all the bugs. I tried to get her to take the flexies and the emitter back until I could help her, but she just insisted I keep them, and to tell the truth I wanted to keep them."

"Alright, Harper, I've got a solution to ease your guilt. _You_ work on the core. Don't tell Trance _or_ Alura. If something happens and Alura needs the Dance it will be done, but she doesn't have to know about it until Trance feels more secure about her place in Alura's life."

"And I thought I was a genius," Harper crowed. "Rom Doll, you're the best."

The android rolled her eyes and pushed Harper away when the overzealous engineer kissed her cheek. Harper started tinkering about almost immediately, and after watching him for a few seconds, Rommie read the core schematics flexie and joined him. If something did happen to her, she wanted Harper's full attention back where it belonged as soon as possible.

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"Dylan..."

Trance's voice had taken on it's '_something bad is about to happen_' tone and Dylan tensed. Sure enough, the holographic Rommie appeared a second later.

"Multiple slipstream events detected. Collector and Nietzschean crafts. Dozens of them. They're firing."

"Trance."

"Loading and firing all missile tubes, Dylan." Trance watched as half of her shots found non-lethal targets, disabling ships.

"Andromeda," Dylan ordered, "please tell Rhade and Beka to come to the bridge. As soon as there is any damage, get Harper on it. Oh, and get Alura to help him."

"Aye, Captain," the holograph responded.

"Dylan," Trance's voice was worried again, "there are two ships that somehow managed to get into hangar one. They may do more damage to the Dance."

"Damn Collectors, we are changing every access code on this ship when this is over!" Dylan half-yelled. "Andromeda, alert Alura that her ship is in danger and send a squad down there to take care of the problem."

"Aye, Captain," the holograph again replied.

Dylan moved quickly to the second weapons control panel and fired at one of the larger Collector ships.

"Why can't they leave us alone?" he muttered. "We're trying to save the universe here."

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Alura had just been on her way to engineering after Andromeda's first message from Dylan when she got the second. She immediately about-faced and ran back into her room, moving to the trunk in the corner that had been aboard the Dance what seemed like ages ago. Throwing the lid open, she unceremoniously dumped her clothes on the floor and took out a weapon belt. She quickly strapped the holders around her thighs and hips, sliding two force lances and two hand guns into their holsters.

Rommie was waiting outside her door when she re-emerged. The android handed her a force lance.

"I thought you might need one of these."

"Thank you, Rommie," Alura replied. "I'd rather not have to use up the charge on mine. I don't know if I could recharge them without the Dance."

Rommie's eyebrows scrunched together and she watched as Alura ran down the hall toward the hangar corridor. Alura worried for a moment that she might have to explain to Rommie how she had force lances and why hers were more powerful than the ones the crew of Andromeda used, but she let go of the concern for the time being. She couldn't let anything happen to the Dance.

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Beka and Rhade were leaving hangar three, just having finished a systems check on the Maru, when a group of Nietzscheans burst into the corridor from hangar one.

"Friends of yours?" Beka asked Rhade.

Rhade drew his force lance and ignored Beka's friendly jibe.

"That's him," one of the intruders shouted, pointing at Rhade. "Take him alive if you can, dead if you have to."

"_Nice_ friends," Beka laughed, firing her pistol at the group.

The intruders suddenly hugged the walls and Rhade wasn't sure why until another figure came out of the hangar. A human, a Collector by the look of his uniform, walked out with a grenade launcher on his shoulder.

"Beka, get out of here," Rhade shouted, firing at the newest arrival. "Tell everyone to stay clear of the area until Andromeda tells you this guy is gone."

"Rhade..." Beka hesitated.

He turned and glared at her for a moment. "Beka, go. They want me, not you."

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Seeing the determined look in his eyes, Beka ran as fast as she could, hoping to find someone to help her close by. She turned a corner and spotted Alura running toward her, in the direction of the hangar bay.

"Rhade," she gasped, out of breath, "in trouble... grenade launcher."

Alura nodded and continued running.

Half a minute later, a squad of High Guard soldiers appeared in the hallway.

"Captain Valentine?" the leader questioned.

"Go," she ordered. "Help Lieutenant Rhade and Alura. I have to get to the bridge."

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Alura arrived just in time to watch Telemachus being dragged into the hangar where the Dance was located. Immediately taking note of the heavy preponderence of stun weapons and the lack of energy burns or blood on his body, she concluded that he was still alive. She shot two of the Nietzschean invaders with the lance Rommie had given her before one of the others made a comment she didn't completely understand.

"Fuck, they never told us she was a half-breed. Tell the Captain we have located our primary objective."

How could I possibly be their primary objective? No one outside this ship knows who I am.

Alura ducked and rolled toward the group when they fired their stun weapons at her. One of the blasts hit her shoulder and her nerve endings screamed at the sudden burning sensation – their weapons must be on full blast – but she pushed forward. There were simply too many of them against just her. She succeeded in slamming her bone blades into the chest of one of the men right before darkness consumed her.

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Ensign Kenyon entered hangar three with her weapon at the ready. But she and her squad, led by Lieutenant Walsh, were too late. Rhade and Alura were being loaded onto a Nietzschean fighter, both unconscious. The Nietzscheans guarding the retreat of the intruders fired on the squad and Alicia snarled when the Lieutenant was hit.

Walsh, a friend from their High Guard Academy days, fell to the ground. She grabbed his uniform by the shoulders and dragged him behind a barrel, out of the way of more weapons fire.

The squad fought back against the intruders, but they were greatly outnumbered and the invaders had been on their way out already. Three fallen Nietzscheans were left behind, but the rest got away.

"Captain Hunt," Alicia said into her communicator, "this is Ensign Kenyon. Lieutenant Rhade and Alura have been taken captive and the intruders have withdrawn. And Lieutenant Walsh requires medical attention."

"Thank you, Ensign," Dylan responded. "A medical team is on its way. As soon as you are able, please report to me in my ready room."

"Aye, Captain," Alicia responded.

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Five minutes later, Dylan and Trance walked into the med bay. Spotting Alicia Kenyon next to the cot of an injured but alive Walsh, Dylan approached the woman, a pale Trance by his side.

The attacking ships had all broken off once the invaders had left, leaving through multiple slipstream events. It was impossible to tell which path would lead them to Rhade and Alura. Or even if they had both been taken the same way. Trance was beside herself with worry over her missing daughter, and Dylan was beyond mad that the Collectors had again taken Rhade hostage. And why did they take Alura?

Dylan was getting really tired of people taking members of his crew. He had chosen to release those who had families or lives they wanted to get back to when he and the Andromeda had become outlaws. A surprising number of them had chosen to stay. Of course, he felt responsible for them now. He didn't want to lose any more crew members, even though he knew it was inevitable in a fight this big.

Although it had only been a short time, it had been his decision to seek out Kenyon. The sooner they discussed what had happened, the sooner they could plan a course of action. If it was possible.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Dylan asked.

"She's not... dead, is she?" Trance whispered.

"No, ma'am," Kenyon responded immediately. "They both appeared to be unharmed but knocked out from what I could see."

Dylan glanced at the bodies of the intruders that had been brought to med bay in preparation for storage.

"Andromeda, what do we know so far?"

The holograph appeared near the bodies. "I have no way of knowing why they would take Alura, but when they did, one of them mentioned her being their primary objective. Rhade they took for the price on his head. None of our people are dead; Walsh is the only serious injury and he will recover. Seven of their people were left behind, one is still alive but refuses to talk. The Nietzscheans we could identify were from the Drago-Katzoff Pride."

Dylan studied the body of one of the intruders. Two sets of three puncture marks in his chest were the obvious cause of death.

"Did Rhade do this?"

"No," Andromeda responded. "Alura did. Rhade was only able to get a few shots off before he was subdued. The ones he injured escaped, except for the one in the brig."

Dylan sighed, looking tired. "Let's go talk to our new friend."

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**Preview:** Our Heroes get some unexpected help.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **_Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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Dylan glared at the captive Nietzschean. The man wasn't in any of their databases and refused to identify himself.

"I'll ask again," Dylan ground out. "Why did you attack _my_ ship and take two of _my_ crew members?"

The prisoner sneered from behind the energy field that kept him in his cell. "Ooh, the mighty Dylan Hunt is mad at me. I'm so petrified. You think being three hundred years from where you belong gives you the right to hold on to the one weapon that will bring down the Magog?"

"_What_ are you talking about? If I had something like that, don't you think I'd use it? I'm the good guy here. _I_ don't enslave people or kill my own kind just because they come from a different bloodline."

The Nietzschean shook his head dismissively and remained silent. He looked down and studied the floor.

Trance walked into the room, her look of perpetual worry firmly in place. That look hadn't left her face since the attack, and it was tearing at him.

"Any progress?" she asked softly.

"No," Dylan muttered.

He was angry that he was letting her down. But there didn't seem to be anything he could do about it.

Their invader-turned-captive looked up. His mouth fell open as he stared at Trance. He didn't remain silent for long.

"Those idiots took the wrong one. Trust that stupid kludge not to tell us there were two of you!"

A cracking sound was heard and the man slumped forward onto the floor of his cell. The holographic Andromeda appeared, frowning.

"He's dead. Cyanide. Probably hidden in a false tooth."

Dylan scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed.

"Orders, Captain?" Andromeda asked.

"Find out everything we can on the dead Nietzscheans we _can_ identify. See if we can find somewhere they may have taken Alura and Rhade. Get one of the bots to take the body to storage. Inform me the second you have any information that may be relevant. That's it for now."

Trance put her hand on Dylan's arm. "There wasn't anything you could have done. For him or during the attack."

He looked down at her, his blue eyes clouded. "I wish..."

"I know," she said softly. "No one can do everything alone, not even you, Dylan. That's what I'm here for. Why Beka, Harper, Rommie, and even Telemachus and Alura are part of this crew. To help you."

"And we don't leave our own behind."

"That's right," a ghost of a smile graced Trance's lips. "And it isn't going to change anytime soon."

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Alura came to slowly on the floor. She barely stopped herself from groaning, only just remembering in time that she was a captive. As she woke up fully, she noted that her arms were restrained behind her back and she was lying on her stomach. Alura cautiously opened her eyes.

She was in a midsize Nietzschean fighter. The ship had only one room, but it was large. There were eleven Nietzscheans that she could see from her original position, and she wasn't looking forward to catching their attention. Alura suddenly remembered that Telemachus had also been taken. Was he also on this fighter? Was he injured?

Deciding that answering at least these questions was worth risking the Nietzscheans knowing she was awake, Alura slowly turned her head so she was facing the opposite way. Telemachus was five feet away, also on his stomach with his arms tied behind his back. His eyes were half open, but Alura wasn't sure that he was actually aware until he winked at her.

Alura let out a silent sigh of relief and winked back. They were both okay. For now.

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By the time they met up with a larger ship, Commonwealth in design, the crew of the fighter were well aware that both of their prisoners were awake. But they had been left alone, and Alura wasn't sure if she should be worried or relieved by their lack of interest in the two people they had gone to so much trouble to capture.

Alura balked at being forced to switch ships, but the man next to her whispered, "Don't fight it. You can't get away yet, and you'll need your strength for later."

Now she was thoroughly confused. Why would a Nietzschean try to help her? Especially one who was part of the force that had captured her. Quickly realizing that taking any help she was offered was best right now, Alura stopped struggling and went where she was led.

When they reached a split in the new ship's corridor, the alpha male of the group ordered, "Take Rhade to a holding cell. We'll keep him there until Pish pays us for the woman, then we can go and collect the price on his head."

Alura was led further down the corridor and into an office. On the desk was a fairly large bonzai tree and a book, open to a page with a picture that, as she was pushed closer, surprised her. It showed a woman, definitely her mother in her current form, holding a plant over her head with rays of power coming from it, Magog dead at her feet. Now she understood why she had been taken.

There was a man standing behind the desk facing away from her, reading a flexie. When one of the Nietzscheans cleared his throat, the man set the flexie down on a shelf and turned around.

"Well, I told you we would meet again and it would be all of your fears..."

As soon as he saw her, he stopped talking and scowled.

"You brought me the wrong person," he snarled.

One of the Nietzscheans growled and hit her in the side of the knee with the butt of his gun. Alura fell to her knees and leaned forward and to the side, taking the pressure off her knee. It throbbed with pain, but she didn't think anything had broken.

"We want the money you promised us, Pish."

Pish laughed, a hollow sound. "I'm not paying you for your mistakes. My god, can't you ubers do anything right? I told you the woman you were after was an unidentifiable species, or don't you know a Nietzschean when you see one?"

"She isn't Nietzschean, she's a half-breed," one of the men spat.

This sentence was punctuated with a swift kick in her side. Alura barely stopped herself from crying out but couldn't help falling to the side. She had always been able to supress most of her pain when in her reality. She now realized it had been a gift of her Avatar side. She would have to learn again to deal with pain. Perhaps Telemachus could teach her a Nietzschean technique. If they ever made it out of here.

"Take her away," Pish ordered. "You won't get anything from me for her."

Alura was dragged to her feet, not unkindly. She somehow knew that the man now holding her arms gently was the same one who had told her to conserve her strength. Behind her, he spoke.

"Maybe Hunt would trade Rhade and this one for the one you really want."

Pish had scowled at the mention of Dyaln, but he seemed to now be considering the suggestion.

"I'll consider it. Until I decide, you are not to leave my ship with Rhade. If you try, my guards will not hesitate to kill you."

The man who had hit her in the knee, and probably also kicked her, said, "If you're going to keep them both, we want triple to make up for the bounty we won't get."

"I said I'll think about it," Pish bit off. "We will discuss payment then."

Alura was taken out of the office, trying not to limp. The group stopped ten feet down the hallway.

The evident leader of the group spoke. "Renier will stay on Pish's ship with me, the rest of you go back to the fighter and wait for further orders."

Apparently the man holding her, the nice Nietzschean, was Renier, for he stayed as the others left.

"C'mon," the leader muttered, walking the opposite direction from his departing crew.

They entered a mess hall, and Renier pushed her gently down into a chair.

"You think it was wise to send the other men back to the ship, Dequenne?" Renier asked. "You know Pish can't be trusted. He would have no qualms about killing both of us."

Dequenne narrowed his eyes, considering. "You stay here and let me know as soon as Pish makes up his mind. I'll be with the men."

"Yes, sir."

Dequenne stood up and glared at Alura. He released the bonds behind her back, removing her leather gauntlets. It was good leather, and he could probably sell it for a fairly good price. He smirked upon seeing the telling scars on her wrists.

"Do anything to make me regret that, and I will break your bone blades and give you a beating you'll never forget."

Alura paled and nodded her understanding. She didn't move another muscle until Dequenne had left the room. Gingerly, Alura lifted the edge of her shirt so she could examine the spot where Dequenne had kicked her. The skin wasn't broken, but it was already bruising. Sighing, she pulled the material back down and looked up, catching Renier watching her.

She didn't sense any malicious intent from him, so Alura picked up a cloth napkin someone had left on the table and spit on one corner. Sighing, she began cleaning the dried blood from her bone blades.

"Achilles Renier of Valhalla Pride, out of Cassandra by Odin," he introduced himself when she was done.

"Alura, out of Trance Gemini."

Achilles gave her a questioning look and Alura glanced away, muttering, "Father issues."

Achilles nodded, sitting down in the next seat. "And this Trance Gemini?"

"She's the one Pish really wants, but I'm not quite sure where he got that book with her picture."

"Well, he is a Commonwealth Collector," Achilles sighed.

"Not a True Collector," Alura muttered. "And if he's Commonwealth, I'm Drago Museveni."

Achilles smiled at that. He was a handsome man, blonde, blue-eyed and very nicely built. There was also a kindness in his eyes that made her relax slightly. Alura was about to ask him why he was being so nice to her when a man in Commonwealth uniform entered the room.

"Pish wants to see you," he said.

Achilles stood but waited for the other man to leave.

"I'm going to have to leave you locked in here." Alura nodded and he added, "You can trust me."

_He's telling the truth_, a voice in her head assured

"Thank you," Alura said softly.

Achilles smiled and was gone.

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Telemachus sat on the cot in his cell, waiting. What he was waiting for he wasn't quite sure. He didn't think he'd get a '_pleasant surprise_' from Dylan this time. There was no way his Captain could know where he was.

He refused to let his mind imagine what their captors were doing to Alura. Considering that it was Pish they were taking their orders from, it could be an elaborate plan to entrap Dylan. But why grab Alura? How could anyone else know who she was?

Unless the Nietzscheans had mistaken her for someone else. Trance, perhaps? It made the most sense. The red and gold alien was important to Dylan. And other than color and Alura's bone blades, the two women were physically very similar.

Telemachus glanced up when someone entered the brig. The guard moved to stop the Nietzschean, but he delivered a killing blow to the throat, not letting the human make a sound. Telemachus stood, wondering what was going on.

The other Nietzschean de-activated the force shield holding him in, and Telemachus stepped forward cautiously.

"Achilles Renier, operative from Terazed for Tri Lorn."

"Telemachus..."

"I know who you are, Rhade, why do you think I'm blowing my cover to get you out of here? We don't have a lot of time, Captain Dequenne is in a meeting with Pish, negotiating the price for you and Alura."

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She got knocked around a little, but she appears to be handling it well."

They stopped briefly at a locker in the wall. Achilles pulled out Rhade's weapons and handed them to him, carrying Alura's holster and weapons himself.

"I don't think many of Pish's men know who you are, so we should be okay if you just act normally."

Telemachus nodded and the two of them began walking down the corridor. They passed a handful of human men on the way, but no one paid them any mind. Achilles stopped at a door and unlocked it, moving into the room. Telemachus cautiously followed, not sure yet that he should trust this man.

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When the door slid open, Alura was waiting in an attack position. Seeing that it was Achilles, she dropped her arms. Telemachus walked in behind Achilles and Alura smiled at them both when Achilles handed her the holster and weapons she had been wearing when captured.

"Why were you so nice to me?" she asked Achilles as the two men watched her strap the belt back on. "You know what I am."

"My younger sister, Ariadne, is half-Nietzschean, as well as two of my brothers. Her father is my mother's third husband. He's a Trillian."

Trillians were humanoid, slightly shorter than the average human. They possessed lovely singing voices and skin that was spotted in patterns. As a species they were happy and peace-loving people. A very unusual choice for the mate of a Nietzschean.

Alura smiled again. "She must be very beautiful."

Achilles grinned proudly. "She is. She also happens to be my favorite sibling. Quite the spitfire, which of course she gets from Mom."

Alura laughed, completely understanding that aspect of the other mixed species girl.

"You're Cassandra Bluteau's youngest son by her second husband," Telemachus suddenly said.

Their unexpected helper nodded. Finished buckling her holster back on, Alura regretted for a moment the loss of her gauntlets. They were her second favorite pair.

"We'll commandeer one of the slipstream enabled shuttles in the nearest hangar. We're going to have to make a run for at as soon as someone spots us," Achilles instructed.

"You're coming, too?" Alura asked for clarification.

Achilles nodded. "I don't have access to the ship's recordings, Pish and Dequenne will know I was the one who helped you." Telemachus opened his mouth, but Achilles saw it and knew what he'd say. "Tri Lorn won't have a problem with it, I was being pulled out in a week anyway. C'mon, we don't have time to talk about it."

Alura and Telemachus followed Achilles out of the room and down the hall. They had just rounded a corner when a group of four men suddenly stood in their way. A door opened behind them and a Nietzschean stepped into view.

"Damn," Achilles swore, pulling his energy weapon.

Alura gently pushed both he and Telemachus against the wall. Pressing a button on one of her force lances, she held it to the side, pointing either end in front of and behind them. Smiling wickedly, Alura fired the weapon. Both of her comrades were surprised when an energy burst discharged from either end, catching one of the men in front of them and the Nietzschean behind them directly in the chest. Both men fell to the ground, dead.

Reholstering the force lance, Alura focused her attention on the group of men in front of her. To the two Nietzschean males beside her she said, "Let's go."

Achilles and Telemachus shared a smile and followed her toward the three remaining men. The first was taken down by a high kick from Alura. Well placed jabs from Telemachus and Achilles took the other two down, but not before Achilles was hit in the head by the weapon in the hand of one of the men. There was a cut above his eye, but he was okay.

Running now, they entered the hangar that had been but ten feet behind the men they had fought. Achilles picked the shuttle closest to the airlock and they got onboard. Telemachus started up the engine while Achilles punched in the code to open the airlock.

The three of them smiled at each other.

"Laying in a slipstream course for the last known location of the Andromeda," Telemachus said, his fingers moving over the controls.

"Thank you," Alura said to Achilles.

"You're very welcome," he answered, smiling at her once more.

Telemachus glanced between the two and frowned.

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**Preview:** Telemachus and Alura return to life on the Andromeda. Alura learns that she came back even earlier than she had believed, and now she has the chance to change more than she had ever dreamt possible.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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Dylan sighed, looking around the command deck at the "inner circle" of his crew. There had been Commonwealth crewmembers on the Andromeda for some time now, but other than Telemachus none of them had become members of this group. Probably because they were more than his crew, they were his family. The people who had inadvertently saved him from being frozen in time longer than the three hundred years he had been. The people who had stuck by him through some of the worst situations in history.

Trance was staring off into space; her face set in a perpetual frown. Some of the light had disappeared from her eyes, and it was hurting him to see her that way. Not that he could blame her. Alura was Trance's flesh and blood. He didn't know if he'd be able to deal even half as well if his child was in the hands of the enemy. Alura being Trance's child was enough to have him set on revenge.

Harper was fidgeting with some wiring in the wall, which probably didn't need to be fixed. He was too worried about their missing friends to fully concentrate on any task. He and Telemachus occasionally insulted each other, but Harper had done the same thing with Tyr. He only dared banter like that with Nietzscheans he liked. It had surprised Dylan that Harper had been able to get to that point with Rhade after Tyr's betrayal. Alura, on the other hand, Harper had almost immediately bonded with. The fact that she was Nietzschean was forgotten much of the time.

Beka was glaring down at the weapons control panel before her. Dylan knew she partially blamed herself for Telemachus' capture. The man with the rocket launcher had obviously been a bluff. The intruders had intended to take captives, not do serious damage to the Andromeda or kill the crew. Dylan had tried to tell Beka that it wasn't her fault, but she had simply said that she should have helped when Alura went in without back up. He hadn't been able to argue with that.

He himself felt guilty for sending Alura to check on her ship. If she hadn't gone that way, she wouldn't have been taken. But Trance had pointed out that as soon as Alura had found out about the intruders being in the same hangar as the Dance, she would have gone there without his ordering it. Her ship was all she had of her former life, and anyone could tell it meant a lot to her.

Rommie was standing next to Dylan. Her lips were pursed, and her forehead was wrinkled in concentration. She was going through what little data she had, trying to extrapolate a common place the Nietzscheans they could identify might consider home. But so many of them came from different worlds and Prides that she hadn't had any luck so far.

Dylan caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned toward Trance. For just a moment she had been glowing. None of the others had noticed. Her gaze turned to him momentarily and she smiled. Dylan smiled back. Somehow, she knew they were okay, which meant he now knew it.

He wasn't surprised when a few seconds later the holographic Andromeda reported, "Slipstream event detected. One ship, a Commonwealth shuttle. We're being hailed. It's Lt. Commander Rhade. He and Alura are both on board along with a Commonwealth spy, and they request permission to dock."

"Granted," Dylan ordered.

He had never been happier to say one word. He glanced at Trance. She inclined her head slightly.

"Trance, you're with me," he commanded as he left the room.

"Of course, Dylan." She said it in a way that she would in any circumstance, but her dancing eyes told him how happy she was.

"Tell them I'm happy they're back, boss," a much perkier Harper said.

Dylan nodded, and with Trance by his side, went to go welcome back his no longer missing crewmembers.

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Having noticed that Alura was favoring her right leg, the one Dequenne had injured, Achilles assisted her down from the shuttle when she exited after him. Pain flickered in Alura's deep blue eyes when she put weight on the injured limb and she leaned on him for a second, but she smiled and thanked him, letting go of the hand he had helped her down with.

Achilles didn't bother hiding his smirk when he noticed that Rhade was still frowning at the two of them. The other male was obviously trying to decide whether or not to act territorial around his crewmate. Had Rhade truly never considered Alura before another Nietzschean male had entered the picture? Achilles knew from reports that there were no other Nietzscheans onboard the Andromeda (not that he could blame Captain Hunt for keeping it that way after all the problems the heavyworlder had previously had with Nietzschean crewmembers).

Now that he thought about it, it was probably true. Valhalla Pride was much more accepting of cross-species marriage and the children that resulted from it than Majorum Pride. Achilles internally shrugged. Now was not really the time to be considering this type of thing. The sooner he got back to Tarazed, the better. He had to make his reports to Tri Lorn and get his next assignment. Which, after the way this one had ended, would most likely not be an undercover one.

Captain Hunt and a woman that had to be Trance Gemini entered the room. Achilles stayed back slightly, allowing the other four people to reunite without his presence to distract them.

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Happiness and relief were radiating from her mother, and Alura wasn't surprised when the other woman stepped forward for a hug. What she hadn't expected was the pain in her side from her recently acquired bruise when her mother squeezed her. She couldn't help flinching, nor could she prevent her own gasp of pain from escaping her lips.

"Are you injured?" Trance asked, concern evident in her voice. She let go and visually inspected Alura.

Alura shrugged, trying to downplay her mother's worry. "Just a couple bumps and bruises, nothing to worry about."

"Telemachus?" Trance asked when she accepted her daughter's statement.

Telemachus shook his head. "All they did with me was throw me in a cell. Alura knows more about what happened than I do." He turned and indicated Achilles. "This is Achilles Renier, he helped us escape. You may want to debrief with him, Captain. He works for Tri Lorn."

Dylan's eyebrows lifted and he turned toward the newcomer. Alura watched as Achilles strode confidently forward and shook Dylan's hand.

"Commander Renier of the Commonwealth High Guard, formerly of the Tarazed Home Guard. Collector Pish was behind the kidnapping, I can give you a full report if you'd like, Captain Hunt."

"Thank you, yes. Please accompany me to my office while Trance takes Rhade and Alura to med deck."

Telemachus didn't remind Dylan that he hadn't been injured.

Alura said, "When you're done, come to med deck and we'll have that cut taken care of."

Achilles smiled and nodded. Alura smiled back at their rescuer and glanced at Telemachus. Her smile faded. Telemachus was frowning at her.

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"Rhade, please come to my office."

Dylan's voice had come from the screen on one wall that received room to room transmissions. Alura glanced over at Telemachus. He still refused to meet her gaze. They were on med deck, and Trance had just finished putting a brace on Alura's right knee after proclaiming one of her tendons sprained.

"I'll be right there, Captain," Telemachus said after receiving a nod from Trance.

"Your scan came back clear," Trance informed him as he moved toward the door. "You don't need to come back here."

Telemachus seemed to hesitate before he nodded and left the room. Trance glanced up at Alura, rubbing a healing salve on the bruise on her daughter's abdomen and side.

"He's been acting a little weird since Achilles helped us escape," Alura confided.

She was puzzled when her mother smiled knowingly.

"Perhaps Telemachus and Achilles are in conflict over something."

"What would they be in conflict over?" Alura asked. "They just met."

When her mother simply smiled again, Alura moved on. "When I was in Pish's office he had an old book on his desk with your picture in it."

Trance froze and Alura frowned. She waited for her mother to decide how much to tell her.

"What was the picture of?"

"You were holding a plant above your head and there were dead Magog at your feet."

Trance nodded. "It's a last resort."

"What do you mean?" Alura asked softly.

Trance sighed. "If I pooled all the power of my star and channeled it through the life energy you saw as a plant, I could destroy the worldship."

Alura felt the blood drain from her face, "But if you did that..."

When her daughter trailed off, Trance nodded, "I would die. Permanently. And it wouldn't even stop the Abyss. If me dying was the only effect, I would do it; I am not as important as the millions the Magog destroy each month, but my sun would die as well."

"And all the people on the planets around it. And the slaves on the worldship," Alura finished in a quiet tone.

"How did you know that my star was part of an inhabited system?" Trance asked.

"You left me a message when you and Dylan went on your final mission. I got it when I was fifteen. It explained a lot of who you were and why you had chosen the path you took."

"Final mission?" Trance echoed. "How old were you when I died?"

"Ten," Alura answered.

Trance's eyebrows rose and she pursed her lips thoughtfully. When she spoke again, her tone was very gentle. "And when you were first sold?"

Alura bit her lip. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about that, I just didn't want it to hurt you. I was twelve the first time, fourteen when I was bought and freed by Hank, the human who took care of me until I was eighteen."

Achilles walked in and Trance smiled at the man who had freed her daughter and her crewmate. Achilles smiled back easily.

"I'm here for my cut," he reminded Alura.

She smiled and slid off the exam table, patting the padded bench with one hand. Achilles obediently sat down and waited.

"I'm sure you have everything under control, Alura. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Mother."

Alura moved back over to Achilles and began cleaning the wound on his forehead. His warm breath fanned over her face when he suddenly spoke.

"She looks very young. Is her species long-lived?"

"Yes," Alura murmured, concentrating on examining the wound.

It didn't appear that it would scar. She gently smoothed a bandage over the wound.

"That's just to keep it clean. As soon as it starts to scab over, let it breath."

Achilles nodded, his eyes smiling at her. Alura suddenly realized how close she was to him and moved back, disposing of the materials she had used.

"Shall we go get something to eat?" he asked. "I believe it's around dinner time."

"I am hungry," Alura responded. "Would you like to sit with me? I'd like to know more about Tarazed."

"I would be very happy to share my memories with you, as well as dinner."

Alura led the way to the mess hall, her pace slightly slower than usual due to the only slightly dulled pain in her knee. Achilles shortened his pace to match hers. Alura suddenly realized that Achilles was being more than just kind to her and blushed.

_Does Mom really think that Telemachus and Achilles are attacking territorial over me_? she wondered in amazement. _No, I'm sure Telemachus is just watching out for me as a member of the crew. And he's probably a little upset to be shown up by another Nietzschean_.

When they entered the room, Alura immediately noted that Dylan, Trance, Beka, Telemachus and Harper were sitting together. Harper waved happily at her and Alura smiled and waved back. She and Achilles got their food and moved to one of the smaller, empty tables.

"Didn't you ever ask Lt. Commander Rhade about Tarazed? It's his home as well."

Alura shook her head slowly in response to the question. "No, I don't talk about my past, so most of the time I don't feel it's fair to ask anyone else about theirs. And I've only been on the ship for a few weeks."

Achilles accepted her answer and shared tales of Tarazed with her throughout the meal. What it had been like growing up on a planet that isolated itself from the rest of the universe. How much it had changed once the new Commonwealth had been established and one of the Triumvirs had made Tarazed their base of operations. Achilles also told her more about his family. His mother had three husbands, two Nietzschean and the one Trillian. He had seven brothers and four sisters, two of whom were in the Home Guard.

"Do you think I would be accepted on Tarazed?" Alura asked as their meal drew to a close.

"Very much so," he answered warmly.

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Alura was surprised when Telemachus showed up on obs deck the next morning when she was watering her plants.

"I can't spar," she reminded him. "My knee needs time to heal."

"I know," he said softly. "But you can still help me with my Tai Chi positioning, can't you?"

"Sure," she answered quietly.

Telemachus seemed to have moved past his sullen mood of the day before and Alura put her watering can away after finishing her plants. She moved slowly over to where he stood. He breathed out and took a position he had previously been having trouble with. Alura moved to stand close behind him and used her own arms to show him how the tension should flow out through his hands, her own gently guiding his.

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Someone walked in the door and Telemachus glanced in that direction to see Achilles Renier watching them with interest. Watching Alura with interest. His body tensed.

"No, relax," Alura chided gently.

When he didn't obey, she sighed and moved away. Telemachus immediately missed the warm, calming sensation of her body brushing his. He nearly growled when the other two greeted each other warmly.

"I'm leaving now and just thought I'd say good-bye and extend an invitation to visit anytime you're near Tarazed," Achilles was saying to Alura. He smiled affectionately at the exotically beautiful woman. "I think my sister Ariadne would really like to meet you."

"Thank you," Alura responded, blushing lightly. "I'll remember that if my ship is ever fixed."

Achilles bent slightly at the waist and brought Alura's hand to his mouth, kissing the blue skin gently.

"I look forward to it," he said huskily.

Telemachus cleared his throat aggressively, "I'll walk you to the hangar."

Achilles smirked at him and Alura glanced between the two men. She looked as if she was about to say something when the holographic image of Andromeda's AI appeared in the room and requested her presence on med deck.

"Goodbye, Achilles," she said and was gone.

The two men walked in silence down Andromeda's corridors.

"I don't think Trance wants Alura to leave the Andromeda anytime soon," Telemachus finally broke the silence. "I wouldn't expect her to show up on Tarazed anytime soon."

"Alura is a full grown woman," Achilles challenged, and Telemachus knew he meant that Alura could make her own decision about more than just leaving the Andromeda.

"All the same, it may be a while until her ship is fixed and she gets closer to Trance everyday. And besides, it may be dangerous for her to go somewhere Pish would be able to find her."

They had reached the shuttle Achilles would now use to get home to Tarazed, and the blonde man climbed aboard, making one last parting shot as the door closed between him and Telemachus.

"I don't think Isis of Majorum Pride would accept a half-breed for a daughter-in-law."

Telemachus glared ineffectually at the departing shuttle.

_Good riddance_, he thought.

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It had been two weeks since Alura and Telemachus had fully returned to working out together. It had taken four days before that for her knee to fully heal. But now that she was fully healthy again, every few days when he got his duty roster, Telemachus passed it along to Alura so she would know when they would meet on the observation deck. It had worked great so far. With Telemachus beside her on the mat, Alura could once again focus, and he had thanked her on more than one occasion for helping keep in top fighting condition, something she knew he would not say if he didn't truly mean it.

Telemachus did not say anything he didn't mean, unless you counted his bantering with Harper. But that was, she had realized some time ago, all in fun. Various members of the crew watched them on occasion, but Alura ignored them. Their looks were only curious.

There had been no further attempts by Pish and his followers, and Alura had moved past the incident enough to almost be grateful. Almost losing her had made her mother more willing to let Alura's past remain secret. She and Trance were getting closer every day. She knew from observation that Telemachus was also less taken for granted now by the crew.

Alura was already stretching when Telemachus sauntered into the room. She looked up at him and smiled warmly before realizing he wasn't alone. Beka Valentine was with him. Alura's smile faded completely. She knew from the reports she had read before coming back in time and across reality that both Tyr Anasazi and Telemachus Rhade had found Beka fascinating. Telemachus' physical relationship with Beka could never be completely confirmed, however.

What was it about this human woman that had them both so drawn to a non-Nietzschean? Her sexual magnetism alone would not be enough for a proud Nietzschean male. Alura supposed it was because Beka was a survivor, a highly desired trait in a wife and mother.

It did not please Alura to have competition. Alura blinked when she realized what she had just thought. _Competition_? Telemachus would have to at least be interested in her for Beka to be her competition. And he had never given Alura any reason, other than their daily sessions, to think he was.

"Captain Valentine," Alura greeted. She had other reasons not to like Beka much and couldn't seem to keep the coldness from her voice, but the other woman didn't seem to care.

Beka simply nodded.

Telemachus smiled at her, the skin at the outer corner of each eye crinkling. He was a magnificent male, even his tiny flaws fascinating. Alura allowed a small smile in return so he wouldn't think anything was wrong.

"Alura, Beka was wondering if she could join our Tai Chi sessions when her duty schedule allows?"

Something inside Alura rebelled violently at the idea. Telemachus had just dashed the only hope she had held on to that he might be interested in her by including someone else in what had been only theirs. She was saved from answering by the ship-wide alarm going off. It was followed by two messages. The first was from Dylan.

"Yellow alert. All senior officers to command, everyone else be ready to head for battle stations."

The second announcement came from Trance.

"Alura, please come to the bridge. There is something you need to see."

Her mother's voice sounded worried and Alura headed to the bridge at a brisk jog. Telemachus and Beka were a few steps behind her.

When they entered, Dylan gave them a tight nod and told Alura, "Stay near Trance."

Alura nodded her acceptance and moved next to her mother.

"There is a swarm of Magog ships attacking a small outpost on the planet. The complex is just beginning to be invaded. I read twelve life signs inside, all Nietzschean," the holographic Andromeda reported. "It appears to be an inhospitable world, I don't see any other signs of life."

_Nietzschean?_ Alura thought. _Is that what my mother wanted me to know?_

Trance interrupted her thoughts, "Alura, why do I feel this place is important to you?"

Alura finally turned her attention to the front view screen instead of studying the holograph of the ship's AI. Alura failed to suppress a gasp at the sight that met her eyes.

"What year is this?"

Trance told her and Alura gasped again. _Midden_.

"Drago... Oh, thank the Divine, I came back years earlier than I thought."

"Andromeda," Dylan ordered, "fire at any stragglers and send out a squad of the automated slipfighters to try and help the outpost."

"Who's Drago?" Trance asked gently.

"My half-brother on my father's side," Alura whispered.

When Telemachus frowned in her direction, Alura silently cursed Nietzschean hearing.

"Captain Hunt," Alura said. Dylan tilted his head in her direction though his gaze remained on the view screen. "Permission to use a slipfighter to go down there and attempt the rescue of someone dear to me. The Dance Among the Stars isn't up and running yet."

Dylan opened his mouth, but Trance preempted him. "Dylan, she needs to do this. Go, Alura."

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**Preview:** At long last, the revelation of the identity of Alura's father! Also, more action and adventure.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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Alura was gone as soon as Dylan nodded, and Telemachus cleared his throat.

"Permission to go with her. She needs someone to watch her back with all those Magog out there. And the Nietzscheans will not let her just take off with one of their own."

Dylan nodded, "Be careful, the Magog will be only too happy to have more snacks."

"Or more hatcheries," Harper grumbled.

Telemachus was already halfway to the door when Dylan added, "Bring her back safe."

The Nietzschean gave his captain a tight nod and quickened his pace.

Trance watched Telemachus go after Alura, a small smile forming on her lips. There was more there than either Alura or Telemachus had yet admitted to themselves. Trance noticed Beka staring at her with a frown and outwardly turned her attention back to the battle in front of them. Did Beka have feelings for the Nietzschean as well?

As much as Trance loved Beka and wanted her dear friend to be happy, she was privately rooting for the daughter she still barely knew. Alura was in love with Telemachus Rhade, a feeling she had never had for anyone else, whereas Beka fell in and out of lust as easily and quickly as she changed hairstyles. Trance would have to count on all her fingers and toes to list Beka's past relationships, and those were just the ones she knew about.

Alura, on the other hand, was in love for the first, and perhaps only, time. Trance also knew that Alura, feeling the outsider, would not fight Beka for Telemachus if the older woman made a move first. In some ways, Alura was very much a Nietzschean, and this was not Alura's territory. In truth, she had none other than the Dance, and so she would most likely step down from anyone who challenged her. Trance was not sure Alura knew she was lovable, let alone worthy of a man who in reality could probably have his pick of Nietzschean alpha females if it weren't for the fact that he was loyal to Dylan and the Commonwealth.

Trance broke free of her musings to watch her daughter's skilled flying, definitely something Alura must have inherited from her father. Telemachus could barely keep up with Alura's twisting maneuvers through the swarm ships.

Alura's slipfighter executed a somehow familiar feint and reality fractured momentarily in Trance's mind. She heard the giggle of her younger, purple self - a giggle she recognized as one being brought on by drinking alcohol - followed by a deep voice moaning her name. A deep voice that had once been a mainstay on this bridge.

Trance reeled at the implication. She knew who Alura's father was now, understood why Alura had never given them his name, why she would never even give his Pride. He had once been a friend to them all, but for a short time, before his death, he had become one of their greatest enemies - and he had been the last male member of his Pride they had known about. Tyr Anasazi had fathered Alura.

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When Telemachus landed his slipfighter next to Alura's, she was waiting for him on the ground. She had touched down more than a hundred feet from the back of the structure, and there were no Magog nearby. Telemachus climbed down from the fighter and jogged to Alura's side, noting that she was wearing the same weapons she had on when they had been taken captive over two weeks ago.

"Dylan didn't have to send you."

"He didn't," Telemachus replied. "I asked to come. I didn't want you to have to do this alone."

"Thank you," she said softly. "There are a couple things you need to know before we go down there. My brother is the reason the other Nietzscheans are here, they guard him. In my reality Drago was killed by his keepers when this attack occurred so he wouldn't suffer the indignity of dying from Magog hatching from his stomach. I will kill anyone who gets in my way. My brother is my only concern. Even if it were possible to save the rest, they would try to take control of the Andromeda if we helped them."

"Is that all?" Telemachus asked, letting her know from his tone that everything she had said so far was okay with him.

"No, it isn't." Alura stood tall and looked him straight in the eye. "I am Alura Anasazi of the Kodiak Pride, out of Trance by Tyr."

Telemachus looked shocked for all of twenty seconds before he seemed to get over it. "You didn't have to tell me that for me to help you."

"I know, and thank you for that," Alura said. "I just... wanted you to know. I'd appreciate it if you kept it to yourself for now."

"Of course. I understand now why you were so secretive about him." Alura looked away, and Telemachus gently grasped her chin, forcing her meet his eyes. "I don't think any less of you. We are not our families. Just look at me."

Alura smiled softly at him. She leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. A strange look passed over Telemachus' face and Alura wondered for a second if she had presumed too much.

Given their present circumstances, she chose to ignore her own action and softly said, "Thank you. And Gaheris wasn't all that bad. Remind me to tell you the story of another reality sometime."

Alura began running to the hidden tunnel that led down to the level Drago was kept on. She could hear Telemachus behind her. When she reached the hidden panel that covered the tunnel, she had a moment of panic when she realized she had no way of knowing what the access code was currently set as. Telemachus took care of it by blasting the keypad with his force lance.

Together, they pried the panel open. What she had always called the tunnel in her mind was actually a shaft that went straight down about one hundred and fifty feet to the sub-levels of the structure. On one wall of the shaft was a ladder; on the one facing it was a metal pole.

"We don't have time to take the ladder," she told him. "I didn't think to bring gloves for you," she added, pulling on her own. "You can stay here and guard the entrance against any Magog that decide to look for us."

"I'm coming with you," he replied, pulling a pair of leather gloves out of a pocket in his jacket.

She nodded and climbed a few rungs down the ladder so she could reach across and get a good hold of the pole. "I'll wait for you at the bottom, the structure is very maze-like."

He watched as she slid down the pole and disappeared into the darkness, her gloved hands and booted feet keeping her speed manageable.

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"Keep her safe until I get down there," Telemachus softly asked the Divine.

Sixty seconds after she had begun her descent, Telemachus lowered himself into the shaft and took hold of the pole. His heavier weight made him slide down much faster, and he tightened his hold so he wouldn't slide into Alura and injure her. When his feet hit the floor with a soft thud, Alura was just taking off her gloves.

"If you had done that much faster, we would have been in a heap on the floor." She whispered.

_Would that be so bad?_ Telemachus almost asked, but he knew now was definitely not the time for such teasing. Instead he replied, "We don't want to take too long or the Magog will be everywhere. I was just trying to go a little faster so we could get out of here sooner."

Alura nodded and motioned for him to follow her. She led the way along twisting tunnels and empty rooms, through doors he couldn't see until she opened them. He knew they were getting close when she tensed and slowed. There was a metal cabinet with a keypad lock in this room, and Alura made her way over to it. Quickly punching in a few numbers, she opened the cabinet. Inside were laser weapons, the kind that cut straight through flesh and bone.

She took two of them out, one at a time, checking to be sure that they were fully charged. Alura handed one to Telemachus and whispered for him to stay close. They went through the door and came out in to a wide hallway. There were ten Nietzschean men in the passageway, all lying on the floor, dead. Telemachus made a sound of disgust. It was easy to see that they had all killed themselves rather than face the Magog.

"Oh, no," Alura whimpered. "Please don't let me be too late."

Telemachus frowned when he remembered what she had said about her brother being killed to protect him. Did the death of the others mean that Drago was also dead? If there was even a chance of his still being alive, what was Alura waiting for?

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_"Matriarch, no, please don't hurt Drago."_

_The woman's title was still a little difficult for the four and a half year old to pronounce, but the one time Alura had called her Olma as Drago was allowed to, Alura had been backhanded so hard that she had flown across the room and slammed into a wall. It had only taken once for her to learn that lesson._

_But when the Matriarch continued moving toward Drago's still form with a knife in her hand, Alura panicked. She had already tried waking her brother as soon as she had realized what Olma and the others were doing, but the boy wouldn't open his eyes._

_"Olma, no!" she screamed, tears streaming down her small face._

_The little girl with two crooked blue pigtails she had done herself tried to pull on the old woman's arm. Her still growing bone blades caught on Olma's sleeve, ripping the rich material._

_Olma pushed the child to the floor and hissed, "Stupid little half-breed useless bitch. I was going to kill you next, but I think I'll leave you for the Magog. You don't deserve the same dignity as Drago."_

_With those words, she turned and sliced the drugged boy's neck. Alura screamed at the top of her lungs but her brother didn't make a sound as his life's blood poured out. Olma used a laser weapon on herself and her body slumped to the floor. Alura's screams died down to whimpers. She was alone now, at least until the Magog broke through the outer defenses. The only sounds left were hers._

_She moved over Olma's body to Drago's and pulled with all her strength. Her brother was only half a year older than she, but he seemed much heavier now. But Alura would not leave him out here for the Magog to eat. She pushed, pulled and dragged Drago into their secret hiding place in the wall and closed the grate behind her. Utterly exhausted, she lay down beside her sibling, one of the two people she loved in the universe._

"Alura!"

Telemachus was saying her name and shaking her. Alura blinked and realized she had fallen to her knees when the flashback had hit. She gently shook his hands free and stood in one graceful motion.

"Come," she ordered, moving quickly over the bodies of the dead Nietzscheans.

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Telemachus raised his eyebrows at the commanding tone of Alura's voice, but he obeyed. Following her, he stayed alert for any sign that the Magog were closing in. But so far their luck seemed to be holding. All was quiet.

They reached a door but this time Alura did not pause, opening the door and moving inside quickly. An older, white-haired Nietzschean woman appeared to be the only occupant of the room. She had a mug in one hand and a knife in the other.

"Who are you?" she demanded as she turned toward them, her voice showing surprise.

"I'm here for Drago." Alura stated, adding, "I'm glad to see you haven't poisoned him yet."

"Who sent you? Tyr is dead. Are you the strange alien from the Andromeda he told us about?"

"No, I'm her daughter. How I'm here doesn't matter. I'm taking Drago away from here, away from you."

"You can't take him anywhere without my say so," the woman said coldly. "I am Olma, Matriarch of Orca Pride. I am his only living relative."

Alura smiled coldly and Telemachus shivered. She was a completely different person in that moment than the one he had gotten to know over the past few weeks.

"You lost any right to call yourself Matriarch when you turned your back on Freya."

Olma paled. "Who are you?"

"Retribution," Alura answered, raising her weapon and killing the other woman.

When Olma's body hit the floor, Alura sagged for a moment, the cold person that had taken her place disappearing. The laser weapon fell from her lax fingers.

"I'm sorry you had to see me do that," Alura said to Telemachus, standing tall once more. "The lives she ruined for the sake of power..."

Telemachus nodded his understanding when she trailed off.

"Where is Drago?" Telemachus asked softly after a minute.

"This way," Alura answered, once more taking the lead.

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Alura somehow knew that even though she hadn't been a part of Drago's life in this reality, he had still found and used the air duct as a hiding place. She went into the bedroom that had been and was his, kneeling in a spot she knew he'd be able to see her from.

"Drago," she called strongly. "Time to come out now if you want to leave."

There was a scuffling sound and the grate cover popped open. Alura smiled happily as the little boy inside climbed out. He dusted himself off and approached the two adults cautiously. Alura waited until he stopped two feet in front of her.

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Telemachus watched as the little boy tilted his head to the side a little, studying Alura. Drago appeared to be about five from his size, and he had dark curls and deep brown eyes. His skin was a bit lighter than Tyr's had been, but he was definitely his father's son in looks.

"Who are you?" Drago asked.

Alura held her arms in front of her folded one on top of the other with her bone blades sticking out toward Drago. He reached out a small hand and traced the black line on one of her bone blades, drawing Telemachus' attention to the fact that Drago shared the same marking on his much smaller spines.

"You're Kodiak!" Drago exclaimed. "Before Daddy died he said we were the only ones."

"He didn't know about me, but he was my Daddy, too," Alura explained gently. "My name is Alura Anasazi."

"You're my sister?" the boy asked for clarification.

"Yes," Alura answered, smiling gently.

Drago appeared to ponder this new information for a few minutes, finally asking, "Can I come live with you?"

Alura made a happy sound and Telemachus noticed that there were unshed tears in her eyes.

"Would you like me to adopt you?" Alura asked. "We would live on the Andromeda for a little while before we found a planet to call home."

Drago nodded enthusiastically, but his eyes suddenly clouded over. "Olma won't let me."

Alura hesitated, and Telemachus decided to join the conversation, sinking to his knees to be on a level with the other two.

"Drago, I am Telemachus Rhade of Majorum Pride. I'm a friend of your sister's. Do you understand what was going on before we got here?"

The little boy nodded. "Olma and the other adults were going to die now so the Magog couldn't kill them."

"That's right," Telemachus said gently. "We weren't able to save them, only you."

Drago's bottom lip trembled for a second but he nodded again. "Okay."

"Does that mean you want me to adopt you?" Alura asked, holding her breath.

"You'll be my mother instead of my sister?"

"Yes."

"You can 'dopt me," Drago answered immediately.

Alura pulled Drago into a hug. The boy didn't even hesitate before he hugged her back, the fingers of one of his small hands winding into her ponytail. Alura stood after a minute, her brother clinging to her. Telemachus stood as well.

"Do you want me to carry him?"

"Not yet," Alura responded. "But I'll probably need you to piggyback him up the shaft. He's too heavy for me to do it the whole way."

"Alright."

Alura glanced around the room, asking Drago, "We don't have time to pack all your things, but is there anything you want to bring with you?"

Telemachus noted with a frown that there were no toys in the room. Only books, flexies and a few weapons. Drago pointed at one of the weapons, an ornate dagger, and Alura picked it up and attached it to her weapon holster.

"Daddy gave you that, didn't he?"

Drago nodded and whispered, "I miss him."

"Me, too," Alura said gently.

Telemachus wondered if she really meant it. She sounded as if she did, but the few times she had referred to her father in his presence it hadn't been in a positive light. Drago was probably too young to realize that if their father didn't even know about Alura it would be a little hard for her to miss him. Besides, it would be a little difficult to explain alternate realities and time-travel to a five-year-old. Especially with the time restraint they faced.

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Alura remembered the bodies back the way they had come. The bodies they had to pass to get out. She didn't want Drago to have nightmares that included the dead bodies of his guardians.

"Drago, I need you to do something for me."

Her brother looked at her with complete trust, and Alura thought her heart would burst. Even in her wildest dreams she couldn't have imagined being able to save him from his fate, and now on top of that she would get to raise him as her own.

"I'm going to carry you because we need to hurry and I need you to keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them, okay?"

Drago frowned slightly but said, "Okay."

He closed his brown eyes, so like their father's, and lay his little head on her shoulder.

"We have to go," Telemachus said.

Alura nodded and followed him back out of the room. She knew he was taking point to protect them, and if he started going the wrong way she'd be able to correct him. But as they moved through the structure, Drago's eyes open once they had left the bodies several rooms behind, Telemachus unerringly went straight back to the entrance to the shaft to the surface.

"Thank you," Alura said whole-heartedly to Telemachus when he faced her.

He smiled and briefly cupped the side of her face in a comforting gesture before turning away from her so she could transfer Drago to his back.

Alura kissed the little boy's forehead and lifted him so his arms were around Telemachus' neck and his legs were gripping the older man's hips. Alura bit her lip. Would he be able to hold on all the way to the top? She put a restraining hand on Telemachus' arm and took off her long-sleeved shirt. She had a tank top underneath, and she was glad their exercise session had been interrupted so she had kept on the extra layer. She threaded the shirt through Drago's belt and moved around to Telemachus' front to tie the shirt snugly around his waist, double knotting the material.

"Not too tight?" she asked.

"It's fine," Telemachus answered. Quieter, he said, "_He'll_ be fine."

Alura bit her lip but nodded. She watched as Telemachus began ascending the ladder.

_There goes my future_, she thought, then wondered if it could possibly be true about both males.

She felt her face flush at the thought and shook her head to clear it of useless dreams. The truth about who she was would make the others on the Andromeda look at her differently. Once the truth was out, she and Drago probably wouldn't be onboard the Andromeda long enough for anything to develop further between herself and Telemachus. As soon as she could get the Dance fixed, with or without Harper's help, they would leave and she would begin her new life as someone's mother.

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Telemachus reached the top of the ladder and pulled himself and his burden out into the night air. He untied Alura's shirt from around his waist and eased Drago onto the ground. The little boy held his sister's shirt against his body, glancing around, his eyes bright with curiosity.

_Didn't they ever let the kid outside?_ Telemachus wondered before he realized that something felt wrong.

As Alura climbed into view and picked Drago back up when he reached for her, Telemachus looked around himself. After a minute, he spotted the problem. One of the slipfighters' silhouettes was wrong. It appeared that one of the fighters was now just a pile of rubble.

"Alura."

Alura looked where he pointed and paled. Together, they moved toward their landing site. As they got closer, they could see that debris from a Magog swarm ship had fallen on the fighter. Drago was the first of them to look up into the sky. His gasp caused the two adults to look as well.

The battle raging in space was much bigger than the one they had flown through to get down to the planet. It didn't appear there would be any extra slipfighters for the Andromeda to spare to pick them up anytime soon.

Alura handed Drago to Telemachus and pled, "Take him, please. I'll stay hidden until another ship can be sent."

"No," Telemachus vehemently denied her plea. "I won't leave you down here."

Alura opened her mouth to argue, but Telemachus handed Drago back to her and growled, "Your son will need you. Who would take care of him if something happened to you?"

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Drago's hold on her tightened at Telemachus' words. Telemachus had just made it impossible for her to choose both of their lives over hers, but somehow she couldn't be mad at him about it. Tears came to her eyes as she looked at him, but she couldn't find the words to tell him what he had come to mean to her. He took the choice away from by gently pushing her toward the remaining slipfighter.

"Don't forget to come back for me," he teased to lighten the tense situation.

Alura half-laughed and turned her head back to him to tease him back, but he surprised her by pulling her violently back toward him. Drago was caught between their two bodies, sheltered by both of them. Telemachus had one arm wrapped around her back and one cradling her head so that it ducked forward toward his shoulder. He had spun them so his back was toward the fighter.

A crash filled the night air with sound and slightly shook the ground under their feet, making her jump and clutch Drago tighter with one arm and wrap the other around the man protecting her. Telemachus released her head after a few seconds and she raised her gaze to his. His eyes were as wide as hers felt.

She nodded when he softly asked, "Alright?"

They were both breathing hard from the shock.

"What was that?" Drago whispered from between them.

Both adults turned their heads toward the impact site. The second fighter had been demolished, a disabled Magog swarm ship smashing the nose into the ground. Alura swore when a few Magog climbed out of the craft. She pulled away and set Drago down next to Telemachus, the man moving himself between the Magog and the child.

Alura pulled one of her force lances out of its holster and pressed a couple buttons. The sections slid out until it was full length, one end of it coming to a sharp point. Gauging the distance carefully, she pulled her arm back and let the weapon fly. It landed less than a foot from the Magog ship, sticking up out of the ground at an angle.

She turned to the two with her and picked up Drago, telling Telemachus, "Run."

He immediately did as she asked. Ten seconds after they started running, an explosion roared behind them, the heat of it sending a rush of warm air their way. Alura and Telemachus stopped running to inspect the damage, Alura once more setting her brother down.

Although the swarm ship was a charred hull, a handful of Magog was still moving, and the two of them picked off a couple before the rest took cover. Alura took out her second gun and handed it to Drago.

"You know how to use that, right?"

The little boy nodded and held the gun properly.

"If the Magog get passed us, use it."

Tears filled Drago's eyes and he whimpered. "But I wanna live with you."

Alura's breath caught in her throat and she quickly knelt down, hugging the boy. She kissed his cheek gently and said softly, "You will, I promise. But I need to know you're safe while I go fight the Magog, okay?"

"Okay," Drago whispered his tone reluctant.

"Take care of the one on the right, I'll try to keep the other two occupied."

Alura followed Telemachus' directive, moving quickly to where she had last seen the single Magog on the right. He popped up closer than she had expected, but she was still able to shoot him before he could attack her. She frowned at the lack of hair on the Magog's face and the fact that he was wearing clothes. He was the strangest Magog she had ever seen, and she had seen more than she could count in her reality.

Looking around for Telemachus, Alura spotted him struggling in close combat with two of the dressed and sparsely haired Magog. They were tussling too closely together for her to get a clear shot without risking injury to Telemachus.

She ran to his aid, slashing her bone blades into the neck of the Magog trying to claw at his back. Freed of the second assailant, Telemachus snarled and flipped the other one onto the ground, slamming his forearm down into its chest, bone blades piercing fabric and flesh.

Alura was suddenly jumped from behind, falling to the ground. But just as quickly the body on top of hers stopped moving. A few seconds later, Telemachus lifted the weight off of her.

"Thanks," she breathed out.

He smiled and shook his head, pointing behind her. Drago was standing there, scowling at the dead creature. He looked up at the two adults.

"I don't like Magog," he stated matter-of-factly.

For some reason, Alura found this very funny and she pulled Drago toward her, laughing. Assured that there were no more immediate threats, Telemachus sat down beside them and laughed, too. A minute later, when they had all sobered again, Telemachus pulled out his communicator.

"I think it's time to call in the cavalry."

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**Preview:** The first rescue plan goes awry, and who should come up with the plan B but... Harper?!?


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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"Beka, is there a reason the Maru hasn't left yet to pick up our crew members?"

Beka rolled her eyes, jumped up briefly to shoot an advancing figure, and ducked back down behind the table she had knocked over to use for cover.

"Well, yeah, Dylan," she answered. "There're actually a few dozen reasons."

There was only the sounds of the Magog and the High Guard squad in the hanger with her fighting for a few seconds. Then Dylan's voice came back.

"Sorry about that, Beka, they knocked out Rommie's sensor in that area temporarily, I've sent two more squads your way. They'll be there in a couple minutes."

"Thanks, Dylan," she said, relieved. "Sorry I won't be able to help Rhade."

Beka stood again and shot two more of the "new and improved" Magog.

Curse Harper and his time machines! Beka thought.

She noticed that a few of the disgusting creatures were trying to pry open the Maru's door.

"Hey!" she yelled, taking out a second gun and taking several consecutive shots at the offending Magog. "Get away from my ship!"

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"Dylan..." Trance trailed off.

Her daughter was once again in trouble. She seemed to be as much of a trouble magnet as everyone else on the ship. If it hadn't been for the current situation, Trance would have grinned at the thought that her daughter fit right in. But, to be fair, it had actually been Trance that Pish had been after, and it had been Rommie who had found the Nietzschean outpost on long-range sensors. Alura just happened to get caught up in both happenings.

Dylan was frowning at the displays in front of him. Trance knew that the automated slipfighters that weren't already in the fight with the Magog had a very slim chance of actually making it down to the surface of the planet, and none of the other craft on the Andromeda could be risked flying through the firefight still raging.

"I'm thinking, Trance," he said in an apologetic tone.

She moved over to him and touched his arm, taking some of his tension away. Dylan smiled sadly down at her and lifted one hand to touch the side of her face gently.

"They'll make it," he assured softly, though Trance wasn't sure if she needed the reassurance any more or less than he did.

Harper cleared his throat and the two broke apart, though they didn't move more than a few inches away from each other.

"Uh, Trance?" The red-and-gold Avatar looked at the young engineer. "You remember how you said not to fix Alura's core?"

Trance nodded, guilt flooding her. The Dance meant a lot to Alura and she still had trouble dealing with her own selfish action.

"I... uh... kinda didn't listen. I know I said I wouldn't, but I had to do it. I didn't tell Alura, though."

"Are you trying to tell us that the Dance could be flown down to pick them up, Harper?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah, boss," Harper confirmed. "I have to hook up the core and put Danny's emitters on one of the control panels, but it shouldn't take more than ten minutes if Rommie and one of the bots help me."

"Do it, Harper," Dylan responded immediately.

Trance moved toward Harper, "Is the emitter in Alura's room? I could get it while you get started, it might save a little more time."

"The last time I saw her take it out it was in the drawer under her bed," Harper answered as he walked out of command, Trance following. "Meet me in hangar one."

Trance nodded and took off for Alura's room at a run, but not before saying, "Thank you, Harper."

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When Trance came back to the command deck five minutes later, Dylan waited expectantly.

"Harper should have it up in no time. Danny was very surprised to be activated by someone other than Alura, but he understands the situation and he's directing Harper in the quickest way to get everything set up."

"Good," Dylan said, turning his attention back to the screen showing the slipfighters fighting the Magog swarm ships.

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"I think that does it," Harper said.

Danny took on a look of concentration that Harper found eerily similar to Rommie's and a faint hum sounded in the air as the ship's systems powered up. Lights came on and a gentle waft of fresh air assured Harper that life support was back online.

"Everything but slipstream is up and running, thank you, Mr. Harper."

"Sure," Harper said. "I don't think slipstream will be necessary right now, I can look at it after. Now we just have to get someone to pilot you down there, maybe Kenyon's free..."

"That will not be necessary," Danny said authoritatively.

Harper frowned at the AI.

"One of my sensors is continuously locked on Alura. I can find her on my own."

Harper shrugged, "You'd know better than anyone. Come on, Rom Doll."

Rommie knew she would have been blushing if it were physically possible when the other AI gave her a quizzical look at the nickname. Was the Dance's AI one of those who strictly followed the no-involvement rule when it came to his crew? She didn't think so, but there was a difference between simply worrying about your crew and the emotional depths she now had, especially in this form. For some reason, she didn't want the other ship thinking badly of her, so she pretended not to see the look, following Harper out of the Dance.

Harper exited the hangar, and as soon as she was in the corridor with him, the door closed. Rommie connected with the Andromeda's controls and opened the airlock so the Dance Among the Stars could retrieve its captain.

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Alura absent-mindedly stroked her brother's curls with her free hand. Drago was sitting on her lap, playing with her bone blades on the arm that was wrapped around his stomach. Telemachus sat beside her, his left thigh touching her right one. Right now it was his "watch," and his head was tilted back, studying the sky. If anything appeared to be drawing nearer, they would both get up and find a place to hide Drago, but so far nothing had approached.

Alura felt Telemachus tense beside her and raised her head to see what he was worried about. A ship was diving toward them, shaking off the Magog swarm ships that tried to pursue it. For a moment, Alura was shocked, but then she smiled. Harper must have finished the replacement core on his own. She decided to worry later about why he had kept it hidden from her. Right now, the Dance was coming to save them.

She faced Telemachus and his eyebrows lifted when he noticed her smile. Alura almost felt like laughing. The man could say so much with a simple look. And she was getting very good at reading them.

"It's the Dance."

Telemachus breathed a sigh of relief and stood. Alura was only slightly surprised when Drago reached up with his arms to the other male. Telemachus lifted the boy and set him on one hip, holding out a hand for her to pull herself up.

"Thanks," she said. She seemed to be saying that a lot today. For a moment she wondered if the words had lost meaning to him.

But Telemachus nodded as he had each time, his gaze meeting hers warm, almost... caring? They could hear the Dance's engines now, and all three of them watched as the ship landed fifty feet away. Alura turned to the two males, but Drago looked perfectly willing to stay in Telemachus' arms.

"Will you carry him for now?" she asked Telemachus.

"Of course," Telemachus smiled at her and then at Drago.

Drago smiled back, happy to stay where he was for the moment. Alura turned and led them onto the Dance, Danny opening the door for them when they were within five feet. Alura felt her spirit lift as she walked into the first corridor of the ship. The lights were on and Danny appeared in front of her. Everything was as it should be. Except, of course, that she and Danny were out of uniform. But for now, there wasn't much she could do about that.

"And who do we have here?" Danny asked in a delighted tone, referring to Telemachus and Drago.

He had originally been a much larger ship, and even his current shell was meant to hold more than one person. He had surely missed having a crew of more than one.

"This is Drago," Alura shared a significant look with the holograph, "I'll be adopting him. And this is Lt. Commander Telemachus Rhade, a member of the Andromeda's crew and my friend."

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Telemachus wasn't surprised to find that he was disappointed at just being labeled as her friend. But really, what else did he expect? They had been getting closer as they worked together and occasionally shared meals, but neither one of them had said anything about feelings. For a moment Telemachus allowed himself to dream, remembering the look Alura had given him when he had tried to force her to take the second slipfighter and leave him behind. It had seemed that she had wanted to say something, but everything had been happening so fast, he had no real way of knowing what it might have been.

He shuddered when he thought of what could have happened to her and to Drago if he hadn't noticed the falling swarm ship. Telemachus smiled reassuringly when Drago peered at him, a concerned look on the young boy's face. How had two such caring, good people come from the same bloodline as the ruthless Tyr Anasazi? But he wasn't really concerned about it, after all, he knew it was pointless to dwell on things you couldn't change like what family you came from. His own wasn't always the cream of the crop either.

Danny's face changed from jovial to serious. "Alura, we have four incoming swarm ships."

"Lift off and head for the Andromeda, pick off the ones that get too close with the shock charges."

"Aye... ma'am."

Alura sighed and ran one hand over the top of her head stopping at the band holding her ponytail. Her gaze turned to Telemachus and his eyebrows raised.

"I am trusting you with this," she said to him softly.

"You can trust me with anything," he told her, meaning it.

Alura nodded, "You can call me by my title until we get back to the Andromeda, Danny."

"Aye, Commodore," the holograph responded, a much happier look on his face.

Telemachus watched in faint surprise as a blur passed over Danny's body, his clothes changing from plain black to a style of High Guard uniform slightly unfamiliar to him, the piping and insignia silver. Alura had been a Commodore of the Commonwealth High Guard. It explained the commanding air she sometimes fell back on, the confident, assured way she moved and the weapons she carried. Of course the High Guard would have wanted to advance their weaponry over time, though force lances changing that much in twenty-odd years when they hadn't changed in the three hundred Dylan had been "asleep" was a little strange. But why had she hidden all of this from them? Surely Dylan would have been even more welcoming if he had known she was Commonwealth.

Telemachus followed automatically when Alura started moving again. He had just started to tire when Drago squirmed to get down. He set the boy gently on his feet and watched with a grin as Drago followed directly on Alura's heels. Drago had bonded with both of them in the time it had taken to get off the planet he had more or less been held captive on. Telemachus was glad to see that the bond was stronger with Alura, especially considering her plan to adopt her younger brother. But he too felt protective of the boy, and he had a moment of panic when he realized that Alura could now leave the Andromeda anytime she wanted. There had to be a way to get the two of them to stay longer.

"Show me the firefight," Alura ordered as she reached command deck. The screen changed accordingly and Alura frowned. "Load all missile tubes with seekers, fire on my mark, scatter pattern Delta. Normal view."

Telemachus was surprised as he looked around the command deck. There were four chairs along the back wall. The other walls, which were actually just one large, curved wall, were entirely made up of screens, both of the viewing variety and diagnositic, but there weren't any control panels anywhere. Alura was standing in the middle of the large empty space that made up the floor, her legs spread shoulder width apart and her hands on her hips. The Dance moved quickly closer to the fight, and Telemachus stood beside Alura, Drago clutching her leg on the other side, watching the screen with wide brown eyes.

"Fire," Alura commanded.

"Aye, Commodore," Danny responded. "Firing."

Telemachus watched as the missiles fired seemed to fly erratically away from the Dance. But each one swirled and dipped until finding a swarm ship target. The explosions that resulted were small but effective, freeing the automated slipfighters that had been dueling the swarm ships to go after new targets. With the slipfighters no longer being outnumbered, the swarm ships' advantage had disappeared.

"Back to the Andromeda, Danny."

"Aye, Commodore," the holograph answered once more. His face was not as happy this time.

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As soon as the Dance Among the Stars was back in Andromeda's largest hangar, Trance left the room. Dylan almost followed, but he realized that Trance could probably get more information out of Alura on her own. And he knew that she would share what he needed to know with him. She always did.

Dylan was feeling slightly anxious even though the confrontation with the Magog was now going more in their favor. Beka and the three High Guard squads with her had managed to expel the Magog in hangar three, and the Andromeda was once again a Magog-free zone. The slip fighters now heavily outnumbered the swarm ships and their enemies were leaving the fight in droves. But something was still nagging him.

He flashed back to when Trance had told him that the Dance would be able to pick up Alura and Rhade, and he realized that she had been both relieved and worried. Of course. Now that the Dance was functional, Alura had no overwhelming reason to stay on the Andromeda, and Trance knew it. Dylan felt his heart clench. If Alura left, would Trance go with her? Was the only reason Trance stayed with him because of the fight against the Abyss?

The thought hurt. Since Alura had come on board, he had more and more looked forward to a time when they wouldn't always be on the run, a time when they could indulge in a personal life. Dreaming of that time was pointless if Trance wouldn't be here with him to share that new life. When had she become so important to him? The answer, of course, was simple. She had always been important. It had just taken the thought of losing her to make him truly acknowledge it.

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Alura turned to Danny when they had landed inside the hangar. "If anyone but Telemachus or myself comes onboard, I need you back in the other outfit. And only call me Commodore if no one else will hear you."

The holograph inclined his head and Alura sighed in relief. She had thought she would have another fight on her hands about hiding who they were. Danny was proud of them, as well he should be. He had been a magnificent ship before the attack from the worldship, and she had been a highly decorated Commodore with a fair-sized fleet before it had been wiped out. He didn't see the good in hiding that information. But Alura knew it wasn't as simple as that.

"Will we be leaving the Andromeda soon?" Danny asked as Alura turned to leave the command deck.

Alura glanced at Telemachus and saw that he was waiting to hear her answer, a tense look on his face.

"I don't know, Danny. That depends a lot upon Dylan."

Out of the corner of her eye Alura noted that Telemachus had relaxed slightly at her answer, and Danny nodded in front of her.

"Well, before we do leave the relative comfort of our host, slipstream needs to be re-engaged and the EM weapon husk ripped out. Mr. Harper didn't have time to do everything."

"Fine, I'll look it over tomorrow and we'll figure out how to proceed."

"Very well, Commodore." Danny smiled, "It was an honor flying with you again."

Alura smiled at her ship's AI and left command deck, Drago and Telemachus following. When they reached a supply closet, Alura opened it and walked in. She took another force lance off a shelf and grabbed a small viewing device. She knew her mother would want some answers, and the video files she had might help a little. Leaving the narrow room, she resealed the door. She glanced at Telemachus. He too would have questions.

Alura looked down at Drago and smiled. "Ready to go see the Andromeda?"

Drago nodded enthusiastically. Alura led the way out of the Dance. To her surprise, no one was waiting for them in the hangar.

"What do you want to do first?" Telemachus asked her.

"We'll head to my room. I need to put away Drago's knife and my weapons. Then I'll probably need to have a talk with my mother."

"Is Telemachus coming with us?" Drago asked as they moved down the corridors in the direction of her room, looking up at the Nietzschean male.

"If you'd like him to," Alura answered when her pleading gaze was met by a reassuring one from Telemachus.

"Yes," the boy responded simply.

The three of them walked down the corridor that led to Alura's room together, Drago asking questions about the Andromeda's capabilities. Telemachus responded to the queries Alura didn't know the answer to. When Drago told Alura that he would someday get a ship like this one for her, Telemachus smiled, holding back a laugh that would have injured the five-year-old. As they rounded the corner, Drago made a sound somewhere between a gasp of surprise and a laugh.

"She looks kinda like you, Alura."

"That's Trance," she informed the boy. "My mother."

In a slightly lower-volume voice Drago added, "I like your colors better."

Alura smiled at her brother.

"I do, too," she whispered conspiratorially.

"I prefer them as well," Telemachus added, receiving a surprised but pleased look from Alura.

Drago just looked happy that he was with two people who agreed with him so readily. Alura ached momentarily for him. In her reality, the adults that had surrounded him had always challenged everything he said to "make him stronger" but he had at least had her until his death at the hands of the crone. Letting go of her memories of the past that never happened here, and that she had just made sure would never happen; Alura turned her attention down the hall.

Trance was standing just outside the door of Alura's temporary quarters, obviously waiting for her. Alura stopped and her two companions did as well, turning their attention to her. She had a feeling she knew what Trance wanted to talk about and she wasn't looking forward to it. She tried to hide her nervousness from the two males.

"Telemachus, would you stay with Drago while I talk to Trance?"

"Of course." His eyes asked her if she would be okay. She smiled softly to let him know she'd be fine.

Telemachus reached down and lifted Drago, setting the little boy on his shoulders, a small leg hanging down on either side of his neck. Drago laughed, but when Telemachus moved down the hall without Alura, the young boy looked back.

"Are you coming, Alura?"

Alura smiled reassuringly, "I'll be there in a couple minutes, Drago. Ask Telemachus to show you the Andromeda's AI."

The little boy's face lit up, and he grinned happily. Telemachus nodded to Trance as he reached Alura's door. Trance smiled gently up at Drago, but almost immediately returned her focus to her daughter. Alura walked slowly toward her mother.

Trance opened her mouth, but Alura held up one hand.

Gesturing to her now-closed door, Alura said softly, "This isn't a conversation I want little Nietzschean ears to overhear."

Trance followed Alura another twenty feet down the hall before her daughter stopped walking.

"Is Nietzschean hearing really that good?"

Alura shrugged dismissively. "We would have been safe five feet closer, but I didn't feel like taking the risk that he'd come out looking for me and I wouldn't see him until it was too late."

Trance nodded her understanding. "What are you going to do about Drago?"

Alura stiffened. "If Captain Hunt has a problem with him being on board, we'll leave. The Dance is mostly fixed now, so transportation and housing is no longer an issue. Drago and I will survive together. He died today in my reality. I won't abandon him now."

"Of course not. I just thought maybe you'd take him to his mother or another relative."

"His mother died when he was only several months old. Her own Pride killed her because she tried to escape with him. They wanted to control his upbringing, and even before she tried to free him they never let her see him. And after today Drago is the last blood link to the Orca Pride, they were wiped out. I am not giving him to another Pride to be raised as a lesser person. I would die first."

"Is there something I should know about him?"

Alura's eyes closed and she bit her lip. "Can I trust you not to say anything to anyone else on the ship?"

Trance led Alura into a nearby room and sealed the door. "Andromeda, engage privacy mode." A soft beep was heard, and Trance assured her, "As long as it doesn't jeopardize the crew, I will keep your confidence."

Alura nodded. It would have to do. At some point she would at least have to confide in Dylan, he was the Champion of Light after all. And she had already decided to tell Telemachus everything. As long as she and Drago were on the Andromeda Ascendant, it would benefit Drago to learn what he could from another Nietzschean. She just hoped there was some way she could pay him back if Telemachus did agree to help her.

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**Preview:** Alura tells Trance the truth. Dylan finds out who Alura's father is.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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"You know that Tyr stole back the Progenitor's body from the Drago-Kazov Pride and that Dylan now has it locked up in one of the storage rooms, right?" Trance nodded and Alura continued, "What you may or may not know is that Tyr's DNA was altered to match the Progenitor shortly before he left the Andromeda. It's why he was able to unite all the Prides against the Commonwealth. But if he had tried to use the DNA from the Progenitor's remains for the procedure it wouldn't have worked. He needed live tissue."

"Then how..." Trance began.

Alura cut her off. "He used Drago's DNA. Drago Anasazi, son of Freya, is the genetic reincarnation of Drago Museveni. If he lives to adulthood, his destiny will be to unite the Nietzschean people. But not as a force against the rest of the universe as our father believed, but with it, for it."

Trance looked shocked, but she found her voice. "No wonder you wanted to protect him."

Alura shook her head. "That has nothing to do with it. Sometimes I don't think the Nietzscheans deserve to be saved from their current path of self-destruction. They don't deserve the gift that Drago will bring them. I saved Drago because he's my brother, and because I love him. I'm adopting him, and from now on, I will be his only family. I will make sure he has the life he wants to have, not one that is chosen for him."

"Of course, I didn't mean to belittle your feelings for him."

Alura shrugged dismissively again. "If that was all you wanted to discuss, I really should go relieve Telemachus. He has done enough for me already. I'm sure he wants to get back to his free time with Beka."

"That wasn't all of it," Trance said.

Trance let the comment about Telemachus and Beka slide. That was for her daughter and Telemachus to deal with.

Alura waited.

"Do you know the circumstances surrounding your conception?" Trance asked nervously.

"You mean the fact that you were drunk and I was a mistake? Yes, I know."

Trance looked disturbed. "Did I tell you that?"

All the light seemed to vanish from Alura's eyes. "No. My father took me from you before I was old enough to remember anything you might have said to me. The people in charge of training me from the age of five often talked about me as if I wasn't there. I found out a lot from them. When I was twenty I found what was left of the Andromeda and retrieved some of her memory files. They confirmed the story."

"Didn't I ever get you back?"

"You never tried."

Trance opened her mouth, but Alura continued on.

"I was angry with you for that for several years, but when I began hearing tales of the adventures of the Andromeda and her crew, I realized you probably left me with my father because you thought I would be safer. You must have felt that a ship was hardly the place to raise a child, especially a ship that seems to go looking for trouble. By the time my father died, everyone on the Andromeda had been dead for at least two years. And in any case, Nietzscheans are known for protecting their offspring at any price. You had no way of knowing my father would come to think of me only as a pawn and not a child." Alura finished softly, "I forgave you a long time ago."

Trance moved forward and embraced her daughter. After a moment, Alura hugged her back. Some of the tension went out of Alura's body and she shook slightly. Trance knew the only reason Alura didn't break down and cry was that she now had Drago to look after. She had to be strong for the boy who had been her brother and would now be her son.

When Alura eventually pulled away, Trance told her, "I will talk to Dylan about you and Drago staying for awhile. I'm not ready to lose you again."

"Thank you, Mother," Alura said.

"You're welcome, Daughter," Trance responded.

Alura hesitated and held up a viewing device. "I have the recording of what happened if you want to see it."

Trance's brows drew close together in a frown.

"Don't worry," Alura said. "I didn't record the intimate bits, just how it came about."

Trance shook her head, "That's not it, I was just... concerned about seeing a different version of me. I never had those kinds of feelings for Tyr in this reality. I cared for him, of course, but not that way."

Alura opened and closed her mouth before saying gently, "You didn't in my reality, either. Just watch."

Trance reluctantly took the device and held it in front of her. Moving to stand beside Trance, Alura pressed a button and said, "Play vid file TGTA01."

"V-file TGTA01 confirmed, commencing play," a tinny voice responded.

Trance watched as the screen came to life, showing a setting very familiar to her. Obs deck.

XX Begin V-File TGTA01 XX

_Tyr was standing in the middle of the room, staring out the window at the stars, a bottle with an amber liquid in it half-empty in his right hand. A fairly large decorative cuff was hanging in his left hand, and Tyr was unconsciously caressing it with his thumb. He took a swig of the bottle's contents and heaved a sigh._

_Purple Trance came into the room, a concerned look on her face._

"_Here you are, Tyr. I could feel your pain even from the Maru."_

_Tyr glanced at the purple alien, then turned his gaze back to the window. Most likely realizing the gruff Nietzschean wasn't going to share as easily as that, Trance spoke again._

"_What's wrong?"_

_Tyr took another swig of his drink and turned toward Trance, "If you are going to stay you have to drink too, little one."_

_Purple Trance smiled at the nickname and took the bottle when Tyr held it out to her. She sniffed the opening, her nose wrinkling from the strong alcoholic fumes._

"_Drink it or leave," Tyr grunted at the look on her face._

_Trance shrugged and tipped her head back, swallowing a fairly large gulp. She gasped as the liquid hit her throat. When she caught her breath, she took a smaller sip and handed the bottle back to Tyr, who smirked._

"_Sit," the Nietzschean commanded._

_Trance did so, almost falling over. She giggled, but covered her mouth when Tyr glared. The Nietzschean moved to sit beside her, and Trance pulled her tail out of the way just in time. She opened her mouth to berate him for the close call, but snapped it shut at the tired, sad look on his strong features._

"_Have you ever left a loved one behind?"_

"_Yes," Trance answered softly, covering her mouth when a hiccup threatened to escape._

"_A mate?" Tyr asked, his voice bitter._

"_No," Trance said. "I have never been married."_

"_I have been married to Freya six months today, and I haven't seen her for nearly as long."_

"_I'm sorry," Trance said, knowing the words were inadequate._

_There was a jump in the footage and in the next scene Tyr had his arm around the slender purple alien, who was leaning heavily into the muscular man's side. They both turned at the same time to say something to each other and nearly bumped noses. Trance giggled and one corner of Tyr's mouth lifted momentarily. His gaze fell to her rosy lips and stayed there._

_Trance reached out and lightly combed her fingers through Tyr's dreadlocks. "I like your hair."_

_Trance giggled, but the sound was cut off when Tyr leaned further into her and kissed her, moaning her name gruffly in the moment before their mouths met. Her small hands rested lightly on his broad shoulders and his strong arms crushed her to him, moving caressingly over her back._

XX End V-File TGTA01 XX

"It was a one time thing, you were comforting him, and it went too far," Alura said after the device turned off. "You both agreed it was better just to be friends the next morning. A month later you told Dylan how you felt about him and the two of you began a relationship. When Dad found out you were pregnant a couple months later and that Dylan wanted to raise the baby as his, he decided it was time to leave the Andromeda. Two months after I was born, Dad came back and took me."

"I still can't believe I would have just let him leave with my child," Trance murmured.

Alura sighed. "You did, I have that vid file as well. Of course you didn't really want to, but Tyr was my father and he did have rights, and basically he pointed out how dangerous it would be for me on the Andromeda."

"And I just... handed you over?"

Alura bit her lip, admitting quietly, "Not until he threatened to fight for me. The Andromeda was no longer a welcoming place for him, and he was willing to go up against everyone on board to take me. When you realized how strongly he felt about having his daughter with him, you gave in."

Trance's eyebrows rose. "So he did care about you."

"At first," Alura allowed, sadness flooding from her.

But Trance knew that now was not a good time to make Alura relive more sad memories, so she let the moment pass in silence. When her daughter had pulled herself together emotionally, Trance smiled.

"I'll let you get back to Drago now, I need to go speak with Dylan."

Trance turned to leave, but Alura stopped her with a hand on her arm. There was a touch of nervousness in her gaze, and Trance wondered if there would ever be a time when her daughter would feel completely at ease on this ship.

"You can tell Dylan."

"Tell him what?"

Trance had a feeling she knew, but she wanted to give Alura an out if she really didn't want Dylan to know where she and Drago came from.

"Everything," Alura confirmed. "I know your relationship with him now is based on honesty and trust, and I don't want to be the reason that gets messed up. I'm not here to make anyone's life harder."

"You're not doing that, you've been a great help to all of us."

"I'd like to keep it that way," Alura said simply.

Trance smiled, "Thank you, then. I don't like hiding things from him."

Alura smiled back. Trance turned to leave again, but as she reached the door Alura added one last comment.

"Tell him the other truth as well, it's the most important truth he'll ever know."

Knowing exactly what her daughter meant, Trance threw a sad smile over her shoulder.

"I don't think he's ready to know that truth."

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The red-and-gold Avatar left the room. Alura waited a minute to compose herself completely before following suit. It had gone much better than she had expected, but it had still been a lot to get off her chest.

Entering her temporary quarters, which were too small to share with Drago for any significant length of time, Alura smiled when she heard Telemachus telling Drago a Nietzschean folk tale. The older male was sitting across from Drago on the one chair in the room. He had removed his jacket and force lance holster and placed them on a high shelf.

Drago was sitting on the edge of the bed, listening intently. When Alura sat down beside him on the bed after putting the vid player on the table, he moved onto her lap, his concentration on the story never wavering. Telemachus finished and Drago clapped appreciatively.

"Thank you for all your help, Telemachus. We wouldn't have made it out without you. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"You're more than welcome. And you have nothing to pay me back for. Everyone on this ship has owed you his or her life since the first time we met. And I helped you because I wanted to, not to pay you back or to earn a debt from you."

Alura smiled her acceptance of his statement. "We'll be okay now. You can get back to whatever you had planned with Beka. I know today is your day off."

"What would make you think I had plans with Beka?"

"This morning. You brought Beka to our session and asked if she could join us." Alura glanced down at the top of her brother's head. He was listening intently, and she felt guilty for a moment about biasing him against the other woman, but he was an intelligent child. He would have picked up on her animosity sooner or later. "If all this hadn't happened, I don't know how I would have gotten out of it. But now that I have Drago, I won't have time to teach her anyway."

"Alura."

She looked up and met his eyes.

"I didn't invite her, she asked. I still feel uncomfortable saying no to anyone who has seniority on this ship. I have to prove that I'm a good soldier who will follow orders. I would never invite anyone to join our sessions." Telemachus paused and looked at Drago. He got up from his chair and approached the child in a crouched position. "Except, maybe, a certain little boy."

Suddenly Telemachus was tickling Drago. The little boy laughed hysterically and slid off Alura's lap and onto the floor. Alura watched the older male tickle her brother, smiling at the happy sounds. Just before it reached the point when her brother would be all tickled out, Alura slid off the bed and knelt beside Telemachus. Instead of tickling her brother, she moved her fingertips lightly over the Lieutenant Commander's ribs. She caught him off guard, surprising a laugh out of him.

When Telemachus started to reach for her, Drago got up and tackled the two adults. All three of them ended up on the floor, Alura and Drago slightly on top of Telemachus. Brother and sister teamed up and resumed tickling Telemachus. Laughing, he put an arm around each of them and tickled them back.

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Trance went straight into Dylan's quarters, knowing he would be in the office that was the front room of the Captain's quarters, waiting for her. Once the Dance Among the Stars had been on its way back to the Andromeda, she had left the bridge without a word. He would be expecting an explanation from her. He had no idea how much Alura had given permission for Trance to reveal.

When she walked in, Dylan looked up and smiled at her. Trance smiled back, but her smile faded when she noticed the fear in his eyes. What did Dylan have to be afraid of? Evidently noticing her hesitancy, Dylan cleared his throat and motioned for her to sit down across from him.

"So, was she able to retrieve who she went down there for?" he asked.

"Yes, her half-brother, Drago. He's a very cute little boy."

"Is he half-Nietzschean as well?"

"No," Trance said softly. "He's full-blooded Nietzschean. Do you remember Freya?"

"I never met her, but vaguely. Orca Pride, Tyr's wife for a short time, the one he..." Dylan trailed off for a minute. His handsome, rugged face paled. "_Tyr_ is Alura's father?"

Trance nodded timidly, not meeting his gaze head on, instead watching him carefully from under her lashes. He stared through her in shock, sinking all the way back in his chair. She quietly skimmed over the circumstances of Alura's conception, skipping the relationship with Dylan that Alura had told her about. No sense making it any more odd.

Dylan blinked and leaned forward in his chair.

Not giving him the chance to banish Alura and Drago from the ship before she had her say, Trance began to speak rapidly, "Alura is adopting Drago and now that the Dance is fixed she'll leave if that's what you want, but if she does, I probably will too, so we'll need to find a way to stay in contact if you have need of me later. If you do let them stay, at least for awhile, they'll need a bigger room, and really, it isn't their fault that Tyr was their father and the Andromeda is really one of the safest places in the galaxy right now with the worldship on the move and I don't think having Drago onboard will be a bad thing. He seems like a very sweet boy and..."

To Trance's surprise, Dylan's hands reached across the table and clasped hers tightly, stopping her stream of speech... and thought. Her lips parted and she lifted her head to look at him fully. Love was shining at her from his light blue eyes. Trance felt her heart beat faster and heat rise in her cheeks. Maybe Dylan already knew the most important truth of all.

"I don't want to lose you, Trance," he said softly, a plea in his eyes.

_Or maybe not_, she thought as she answered. _If he really did know, he wouldn't even consider losing me a possibility_.

"No matter where I am, Dylan, you'll never lose me," Trance assured, her voice as soft as his had been.

Until Dylan was ready to tell her that he loved her, it was better that he didn't know how strong her feelings for him had always been. They had a very good working relationship now, and a strong friendship and trust as well. It would just have to be enough for now.

Dylan leaned back in his chair again, but this time he was fully focused on her. "Would you really go with them?"

Trance looked away for a moment, fighting a sudden need to cry. Why did she feel like she was letting him down? She would certainly come running if he needed her for anything. He had a whole crew now, it wasn't as if she were leaving him alone. But the thought of not seeing him everyday, of not walking the halls or talking or just sitting in companionable silence, hurt more than she cared to admit.

"I don't know," she finally answered honestly. "But I'd rather not have to make the choice."

_How do I choose between my daughter and the man I love_? she thought.

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Dylan sighed after a minute of silent thought. "All right. They can stay."

Trance's head snapped up and she stared at him. "You mean it?"

"Yes. But if something happens that makes me think their safety or the crew's is in jeopardy because they're here, they will have to leave."

Trance jumped up and Dylan stood, assuming she was rushing off to tell Alura the news. To his surprise, she came around the table and threw her arms around him. Dylan closed his eyes to savor the sensation and hugged her back. She pulled back slightly and gave him a dazzling smile. The joy in her brown eyes was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.

It was impossible to tell which of them moved first, but their lips touched only briefly before Trance pulled back, darker color than normal tingeing her cheeks.

"Thank you, Dylan," she said softly and was gone.

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Dylan walked from his suite in the main living quarters to Alura's room in the guest corridor. He had decided to go ahead and have his own talk with Alura when Andromeda had informed him that Trance had gone straight to the Maru from his quarters. He knew Trance retreated to her old room there when she was feeling particularly emotional. He just hoped she wasn't regretting what had happened between them.

Trance had looked slightly embarrassed when she had left his office, and Dylan had had to compose himself for a few minutes so he could think of their very brief kiss without a silly grin on his face. Trance had come to mean a lot to him, but he had always felt he wasn't enough for her, even before he had learned what she really was. So he had never made a move or shared his feelings with her. The thought of her leaving the Andromeda certainly put a new spin on things.

Dylan was abruptly dragged from his thoughts when he realized he had almost passed Alura's door. He had just raised his arm to knock when the holographic Andromeda appeared beside him, a mischievous smile on her face.

"No need to knock, Dylan, I don't think they'd hear you anyway."

Curious, Dylan shrugged internally and simply walked straight to the door, knowing Andromeda would open it for him. When Dylan entered the room, he found a heap of three laughing Nietzscheans on the floor. Smiling, he cleared his throat. All three of them looked up at him, Telemachus looking at him upside down from his position on the bottom of the pile.

"Alura, I came to ask if you and Drago would like to join me for dinner."

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Drago launched himself off of Telemachus and stood in front of Dylan. "Can Telemachus eat with us too?"

Dylan smiled at the little boy who reminded him strongly of Tyr, at least in looks, and answered, "Of course."

_You don't have to_, Alura mouthed down to him.

Telemachus mouthed back, _I want to_.

Alura smiled at him, and then, realizing their faces were awfully close together and she was still lying half on top of him, she quickly got up. She noticed Dylan watching them with interest and blushed.

"We were just playing," she defended, not enjoying the feeling of defending herself to a parent figure.

"Is playing allowed?" Drago asked, concern tingeing the question.

The Matriarch had limited their playtime when they were young. Alura wondered for a moment how little playtime he had been allowed without her. Her mind flipped back to his room on Midden. There hadn't been a single toy. Their father had brought them a few during each of his visits in her reality. Why hadn't Drago had any?

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"Playing is definitely allowed," Dylan responded. "I myself like to play basketball."

"What's that?" Drago asked, curious as to what game an adult human male, and a famous warship Captain at that, would play.

Drago studied Dylan Hunt as they walked to the cafeteria, Alura and Telemachus behind them. He kept his attention on what the human was saying enough to absorb all of it, but internally he wanted to ask Dylan about his father. Olma and his guards had sometimes mentioned the High Guard Captain as someone who knew his father well. Now that Tyr Anasazi was dead, Alura, himself and another, older female - who chose to live in exile and tried to pass as human in order to survive - were the last of the Kodiak Pride.

When he and Dylan reached the cafeteria door, Drago glanced behind him. Alura immediately smiled at him. Telemachus did too, though not with as much love. But affection was evident in the male Nietzschean's gaze, and Drago wondered if it was because of his sister's choice to adopt him. Were she and Telemachus going to marry? That could make Telemachus a part of the Kodiak Pride and his adoptive father. Drago liked the idea.

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**Preview:** The next chapter will show everyone else's reaction to the news. Also, Alura and Drago get new quarters.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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Though Drago and Dylan had reached the mess first, Drago remained frozen in the doorway until his sister drew even with him. Alura looked around the room and realized that Drago had never seen so many people at once before. She was sure it was overwhelming to the five year old. When her father had taken her away from Midden to the planet that was his base of operations, she had still been too much in shock from what had happened to care how many people she was suddenly faced with. Alura was about to pick him up and comfort him when Dylan spoke.

"Rhade, would you mind helping Drago get something to eat. I need to speak to Alura."

"Of course, Captain."

Alura watched as Telemachus squatted briefly beside Drago and softly said something to him. Whatever it had been must have been comforting, because Drago smiled at the older male and took Telemachus' hand when it was offered. When they had walked far enough away, Alura turned her gaze back to Dylan. He had been watching the two Nietzschean males as well, and she waited until his attention turned to her.

Frowning slightly, he asked, "I thought Tyr's son's name was Tamerlane?"

"It was," she confirmed. "But when he was a baby, Olma and his guards spoke so often about Drago Museveni around him that he started to only respond to the name Drago."

Dylan's frown deepened, "Why would they do that?"

Alura's eyes widened. "Trance didn't tell you?" Dylan shook his head and she continued, "Drago is the genetic reincarnation of the Progenitor."

"Ah," Dylan murmured. "I take it Tyr's sudden rise to power has something to do with that?"

"Yes," Alura replied simply.

Somehow she knew that he wouldn't reveal that dangerous secret without her having to ask for his discretion. After all, he had secrets of his own, and he didn't hurt the innocent.

Dylan sighed.

"I've decided to make you a more permanent member of the crew." He held up a hand when Alura opened her mouth to thank him. "But if I think for any reason that you or Drago are a danger to the crew, you _will_ have to leave."

"Understood, Captain," Alura responded. "And thank you."

"You're welcome," Dylan said. "And I believe I told you before to call me Dylan. Since you'll definitely be staying, you need permanent quarters. You'll have to take one of the empty officer suites, especially with your son joining you. I'll have Andromeda assign the appropriate suite and two bots will be at your old quarters an hour after dinner ends to help carry anything you need moved. We can talk about a duty schedule later, but I'm sure we can work out an engineering and med rotation that you can bring Drago on."

"Thanks again, Dylan."

Dylan smiled and waved her into the mess hall. "Let's go eat."

Alura and Dylan got their dinner and sat down with Telemachus and Drago. They were sitting at a small, round table, Drago on one side of Alura and Telemachus on the other. Dylan sat down across from Alura.

Dylan glanced at Drago and then at Alura, "Maybe we should just get the announcement out of the way while most of the senior staff is in the same place."

Alura nodded. There was no point in delaying anymore. Better for the crew to find out from their captain than have Drago say something unknowingly that would set everyone off.

"Drago, stand on your chair," she said softly as she and Dylan stood to face the rest of the room.

The boy did so, but reached for her when a lot of the people present turned their attention in the direction of their table. She held him on her hip, his little arms wrapped around her neck. Beka and Harper were sitting a few tables away, and she was almost afraid of their reaction. Somehow the knowledge that if it was too big a problem they could leave on the Dance didn't make her feel any better. She glanced very quickly at Telemachus. She didn't want to have to say goodbye to him.

Dylan cleared his throat loudly and announced, "Most of you have met Alura. Today she rescued her half-brother and has decided to adopt him. She has also trusted us with the truth of her identity, which anyone who has concerns about should come talk to me. So, I'd like you all to welcome Alura Anasazi and her son Drago to the Andromeda Ascendant."

There was murmuring among many of the Commonwealth crew tables. One table clapped; Alura noted that Alicia Kenyon was among the group that obviously didn't care who her father had been. She was glad to retain the woman's friendship and smiled at her thankfully. Nervously, Alura glanced in Beka and Harper's direction. Beka looked pale, her mouth slack. As long as the Eureka Maru's captain wasn't preparing to attack, Alura didn't really care about her reaction. Harper, on the other hand, was choking on his food. Someone from a nearby table quickly performed the heimlich manoeuvre on the engineer, who wheezed gratefully and slowly drank from a Sparkly Cola bottle.

Alura and Drago sat back down when Dylan did. The four table-mates began eating, trying to act as normal as possible. After a few minutes of nothing happening, they all relaxed and began to enjoy their meal in earnest.

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"Captain."

The holographic Andromeda had appeared and Dylan put down his fork. Luckily for him, he had been practically finished with his dinner anyway. Alura smiled when Telemachus nudged her, both of them noticing Drago staring at the AI's holograph, a forgotten forkful of beans hovering in front of his still open mouth.

"Yes, Andromeda?" Dylan responded.

"You have a communiqué from Tri-Lorn waiting for you in your quarters."

"Thank you, Andromeda, I'll be right there." Dylan turned to Alura and said, "Excuse me all of you. And if you see Trance tell her I'd like to talk to her."

"Of course, Dylan. And thanks again for everything."

Dylan smiled and waved a friendly goodbye to Drago. The boy returned the wave and turned back to his plate, finishing his meal. Minutes later, Harper joined their table, sitting down across from Alura in the chair Dylan had abandoned. Telemachus got up to get dessert, Drago going with him.

"So," Harper started. "Anasazi, huh?"

Alura nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, Harper..."

"Nah," the young human cut her off. "I can understand not wanting everyone to know that. We probably never would have given you a chance if we had known from the start." He paused, looking at her with a guilty expression. "I... I'm sorry we killed him, at least for your sake, and Drago's."

Alura frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Tyr was holding Beka hostage on the Abyss' planet. Rhade, Dylan and I shot him. It's hard to tell which of us actually killed him, but he is dead."

Alura was still frowning, but she nodded. "It's alright. It had to be done."

Harper glanced in Telemachus' direction and Alura followed his gaze.

Harper had a note of panic in his voice when he asked, "Uh, I haven't ruined things for you and Rhade have I?"

"No," she said softly.

Because the three men had been trying to save someone they cared about, she couldn't hold her father's death against them. And they hadn't been the ones to kill the father she had loved as a small child. The father who, though he had abandoned her first emotionally and then forever when he was killed, she had continued to love despite her overlying anger at him.

Harper gave a relieved sigh and excused himself, mentioning it would be a few days before he could help her finish repairs to the Dance. Telemachus and Drago walked back to their table, Harper saying something to Telemachus on the way. Telemachus' face was worried as they approached.

"Harper told me he told you," he said carefully as he sat, handing her a dessert plate.

"It's forgotten," she assured him softly.

Telemachus sighed with relief. The other two started digging into the pie in front of them, but Alura decided now was as good a time as any to ask Telemachus for the favor she had been pondering for the last couple hours.

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"Telemachus, I have a favor to ask," Alura began.

He put down his fork and gave her his complete attention.

"I was never taught much of Nietzschean history and culture, but Drago will need to learn it. Would you consider teaching him during your free time? I have money to pay you, of course."

"I don't want your money," he responded, thinking _I want you_. He was only slightly surprised to realize how deeply he did want her. Not just for a dalliance, he had never had a relationship, especially one based solely on physical attraction, and had no intention of starting with her. No, he more than wanted her, he loved her. He didn't know when the feelings had started, maybe the moment they had met, but the events of the day had made him face the feelings that had been growing over the last several weeks. But he knew he couldn't be the one to start anything between them. He had no idea how she felt, and even if he did, he was too set in Nietzschean ways to go against the idea that the women picked their mates. Or was he? "How about I get a favor later when I decide?"

"Okay," Alura responded. "Anything I can give you or do for you. And I mean that."

Telemachus smiled. He wondered just how much she truly did mean it. When he got up the courage, he would find out.

They had just about finished their dessert when Beka approached their table.

"Can I help you, Captain Valentine?" Alura asked coldly, her body held stiffly.

Beka frowned. "You never gave me an answer this morning about teaching me Tai Chi."

Alura's eyes flicked to Telemachus, sadness in her gaze. He wondered why until she spoke, feeling sadness well within himself at her words. He almost wanted to attack Beka, knowing she was the real reason behind Alura's decision. But that might set a bad example for the boy.

"I'm not going to have time to do Tai Chi at all anymore now that I have Drago. So I definitely won't have time to teach you."

Beka frowned deeper, but turned toward Telemachus. "How about you then? If you won't be practicing with Alura, you'll have time."

"Actually I won't," Telemachus answered, not feeling guilty in the slightest. "I'll be tutoring Drago during my free time, and anyway, I don't know enough myself to teach you."

Evidently Beka didn't have anything to say to that, and she walked away, not looking in the least happy about the situation. Telemachus was relieved she hadn't made a bigger deal out of it, but also wished she hadn't asked in the first place. He hadn't wanted to lose that time with Alura.

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Alura was busy throwing things into her trunk when someone knocked on her door. She glanced over her shoulder at Telemachus, who got up and answered the door for her. Trance smiled at Telemachus as she came in.

"I came to offer my help," Trance said.

Alura smiled. "I'm almost done, I've pretty much been living out of my trunk except for my clothes. But I will need help carrying the plants."

"Okay," Trance responded, sitting down on the bed next to Drago.

The holographic Andromeda appeared near Alura and told her, "The two bots to carry the trunk are outside your door."

"Thank you, Andromeda. You can send them in now," Alura said, tossing the last article of clothing in the trunk from her closet.

She closed the lid to the trunk just as the bots came in. She stood back and let them pick up the heavy object. Alura picked up the fern near the bathroom and gently handed it to Drago.

"Can you carry that one for me?"

Drago nodded enthusiastically and clutched the plant's pot protectively to his chest. Alura handed two plants each to Trance and Telemachus and grabbed the last one, which had a fairly large pot.

They made an odd little procession down the halls to the main crew living quarters corridor. The bots entered a room and Trance pointed out that her own room was the door to the right before they walked in. Alura's mouth fell open. Not only was the living room bigger than her whole previous guest quarters, it was larger than Telemachus' living room, which she had seen her first day on the Andromeda. There were three doors other than the main one, all open. One of them led to a large bathroom complete with tub and shower, and the other two were bedrooms, one slightly smaller than the other with a single size bed as opposed to a queen.

"Can I put this plant in my room?" Drago asked.

"Of course, sweetie," she answered, smiling as he ran excitedly into the smaller room and set the fern carefully on the nightstand beside his new bed.

Alura directed the two bots to put the trunk in the larger bedroom. When they were gone, she set the plant she had carried on the desk in the corner, not sure yet where she would put it. Trance and Telemachus each set their two smaller plants on the desk as well. Evidently done exploring his new room, Drago walked through the bathroom and Alura's room while the adults watched.

"He seems to be adapting well," Trance observed.

"He's a remarkable boy," Telemachus said.

Trance smiled. "Yes, though it is a little strange to think of him as my grandson."

Telemachus' face split in a wide grin, a twinkle in his eye. "Feeling your age, Trance?"

Alura laughed at that, and Trance gave them both a stern look.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Mom. Dylan wanted to see you."

Alura and Telemachus watched with interest as the Avatar blushed.

"I guess I should go see what he wants," she mumbled.

Trance said her goodbyes and left. Drago came back into the living room and sat on the couch, yawning widely.

"I think it's time for bed," Alura said softly.

Drago rubbed his eyes and nodded, yawning again.

"Say goodnight to Telemachus."

"Night," the little boy said, moving to the older male and hugging him.

When Drago went into his room, Telemachus said softly to Alura, "I'll wait out here, there's something I want to ask you."

"Okay," she answered. "I'll be right back."

Alura went into Drago's room and pulled the covers back for him to slide under. After she had pulled the blankets back up and tucked them snugly around his little body, she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. Drago reached up with both arms and hugged her to him, kissing her cheek in a similar fashion.

"Can I call you Momma now?" he whispered.

"I'd like that very much, sweetie," she answered, fighting tears.

"Night, Momma."

"Goodnight, my son."

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Telemachus waited until Alura sat beside him on the couch to ask her the question he had been considering since before their return from Midden.

"When we were on the planet and Drago expressed his sorrow over missing Tyr, you said you missed him as well. I know you were sincere, but you had never said anything positive about him before."

Alura got up and retrieved the viewing device she had brought from the Dance. She sat back down next to him and handed it to him.

"Play vid file TADAAA14," she said softly.

"Confirmed. Playing V-File TADAAA14," the device responded.

Telemachus watched as Tyr scowled down at a slighty younger Drago.

"Where is your sister?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

The small boy shrugged, his eyes twinkling. Tyr turned around as if searching the room, revealing a very young Alura clinging to his back.

Telemachus smiled at the scene.

In the video, Drago covered his mouth but could not stifle his giggle. Tyr turned back to the boy, smiling widely. Alura laughed when her father swung quickly in a circle, catching her when she lost her grip. Tyr scooped up Drago in the other arm and spun both his children around in circles. All three were laughing when he stopped, kissing each child on the cheek.

"End vid," Alura ordered quietly.

"He was a loving father," Telemachus remarked after a moment, surprise evident in his voice.

"Yes." Alura sighed heavily. "But after Drago died, his hope died as well. He couldn't look at me without wishing Drago had been the one to survive. After that, he only paid attention to me when it suited him, which wasn't very often. I miss the man he was when Drago was alive."

Telemachus put his arm around her and tightened his hold when she hugged him. Her head stayed on his shoulder for a couple minutes until she yawned. She pulled away and covered her mouth with one hand, turning a sheepish grin in his direction. He smiled back gently, wanting to make sure she knew that he cared, that he was glad she had lived.

"If you hadn't lived, who would have saved us, who would have saved Drago?"

Alura smiled at him and he felt his heart swell.

"Thank you, Telemachus."

They both laughed when she yawned again. Telemachus stood and pulled Alura up from the couch when she held out her hand.

"I should go and let you get some sleep," Telemachus said, walking to the door.

Alura trailed after him, standing in the doorway when he walked through it. Telemachus turned around and hesitated, not sure what their plan of action would be for starting Drago's training and not knowing when the next time they saw each other would be if they no longer had their morning sessions. He knew she ate breakfast alone and really didn't want to have to wait for lunch or dinner to see her again.

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Both of them lingered in the open doorway, Alura wondering if Telemachus was as unwilling as she to put an end to the connection that had formed so strongly between them during the events of the day.

"Is something wrong?" Alura asked lightly, unable to read the emotions warring in his dark eyes.

"I'm going to miss our sparring matches," Telemachus admitted huskily.

"We don't have to stop," she replied softly. "Drago needs to continue to learn to fight, and I need to keep in top condition to protect him. It would be an honor to continue working with you."

"The honor is mine," he returned.

Telemachus lifted her hand and lightly brushed his lips across her knuckles. Alura's lips parted and her breath softly caught in her throat at the tender gesture. Somehow it was a million times more intimate than when Achilles had kissed her hand. Because it was from Telemachus, she had felt the tingle of contact travel from her hand all the way up her arm.

Looking into his eyes, she could tell he was waiting for her to respond in some way. At that moment, she wished she was as bold as a normal Nietzschean woman in matters such as personal relationships, but all she had the courage to do was try to maintain the spiritual connection they might lose if they stopped doing Tai Chi together.

"We can still practice Tai Chi if we do it in my quarters instead of the obs deck so Beka won't feel slighted."

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Telemachus smiled his agreement, glad to still have their focusing sessions together, even if it wasn't what he had been hoping for. "I'll see you here in the morning, then. How about half an hour before we usually start?"

"Okay. Goodnight, Telemachus."

"Goodnight, Alura."

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She watched him walk down the hall, wishing with all her heart that she'd had the courage to kiss him. Telemachus suddenly pivoted and walked back to her. Confused, she waited for him to say something.

"I've decided what favor I want from you in return for tutoring Drago," he told her.

"Yes?"

Looking straight into her midnight blue eyes, he commanded lightly, "Kiss me."

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Alura blushed violet and bit her lip, looking down. Knowing her well enough now to sense her shyness and inexperience, Telemachus gently lifted her chin so she had to look at him.

"Just put your mouth on mine, I'll help."

Blushing an even darker purple, Alura moved forward into his waiting arms. Her eyes searched his face, and Telemachus stayed still, wondering what she was looking for. He gently settled his hands at her waist when she leaned her forearms lightly against his chest, her bone blades lying flat against him. Though he wanted to clasp her tightly to him, he deliberately kept his hold loose. He didn't want to startle her. This way, if she wanted to pull away, she could.

Alura sighed suddenly, and Telemachus knew it was a release of tension. He lifted one hand and gently traced the blue and silver patterns on her lovely face. Her eyes drifted shut and she leaned into his touch for a minute. Then her eyes opened and she smiled at him.

Telemachus smiled back, the expression faltering only slightly when he had a moment of doubt. Some Nietzscheans on Tarazed, and elsewhere of course, acted more like humans in regards to physical relationships, but he followed the older Nietzschean ways, at least in this. Like Alura, he had never kissed someone. He had never truly wanted to until now.

He wanted to prove he was worthy of her affections, that he could please her as she deserved. But what if he was a horrible kisser? He had studied, and probably knew of more techniques than most people who had been kissing – and more - their whole adult lives, but knowing and actually doing were two different things.

Then he had no more time to worry, because Alura's lips were brushing his. The first touch was light... a test. But when something sparked between them, Alura deepened the contact, pressing her lips fully against his. Telemachus closed his eyes, more than willing to simply feel what was happening. As her mouth moved infinitesimally over his, learning his shape he theorized in the back of his mind, Alura hesitantly lifted one of her hands to the side of his head, gently caressing the hair behind his ear.

Telemachus hummed his approval of the gesture against her mouth, and Alura more confidently sank her fingers into his hair, her other arm looping around his neck. This freed him to tighten his arms around her, bringing her fully into contact with his body. Her curves fit against his body perfectly, the fact that she nearly matched his height lining them up well, chest to chest, hip to hip.

Alura's mouth parted slightly and she pressed warm, moist kisses on his lips. Telemachus splayed one hand over the small of her back, massaging in small circles. His other hand moved up to cup the back of her head.

"Mmm," Alura moaned against his mouth.

She nipped lightly at the fullness of his lower lip, and he groaned softly when her tongue darted out to sooth the tiny hurt. Taking the cue from her to deepen their embrace, Telemachus opened his mouth and slowly stroked the seam of her lips with his tongue before she opened fully and let him in. Their tongues met tentatively, swirling and tasting. Both of them learning what they and the other liked.

Telemachus groaned softly when they broke apart for air minutes later. Alura smiled shyly at him, but pulled her body away from his. The urge to pull her back into his arms was not as strong as the knowledge that he was not forward thinking enough to go against the Nietzschean mating rituals. It was close, but she had to be the one to choose him.

"Alura, you have to be the one to make the next move," he told her gruffly. Her gaze flicked briefly away before meeting his again, a faint blush staining her cheeks. "Whatever happens between us from now on has to be initiated by you. Do you understand why?"

Alura nodded. Telemachus leaned forward briefly to brush his lips against her forehead. She smiled and they quietly said goodnight to each other. He gently turned her around and watched her take the step that brought her fully into her quarters. He stepped back, allowing the door to slide closed, only turning toward his own room when the door was all the way shut.

A smile curved his lips as he walked to his quarters. This had certainly been an eventful day, and if she felt even part of what it had made him realize he felt for her, both of their lives would soon make another big step forward, this time together.

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Alura leaned back against the door and sighed. _That_ had been amazing. She gingerly touched her fingertips to her slightly swollen lips. A kiss, to their people (at least the ones that followed the true Nietzschean disciplines), was something shared only between a man and a woman who seriously felt a future together was in the works. And _that_ had been no simple kiss. Did he really feel that way about her or was he making an exception because she _wasn't_ a full Nietzschean?

Realizing that questioning only his motives wasn't fair Alura examined her own feelings. Even before she had gotten past the fact that he was Nietzschean, she had been attracted to him; after all, who wouldn't be? But it had quickly become more than that, especially after they had started meeting every morning for their sessions and spending other free time with each other. She knew she cared very deeply about him, but how deeply?

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to picture the moment on Midden when it had seemed that there had been a chance that only one of them would be making it back to the Andromeda with Drago. What would she have done if something had happened to Telemachus?

Alura gasped at the pain that struck her heart and threatened to tear her apart. Her eyes opened and she reassured herself that everything was fine, wiping tears from her face. She had her answer now: she loved him. It was as simple and as complicated as that. Could she risk the pain it would cause her when she left the Andromeda by asking him to be her mate? She knew his place was here, fighting alongside Dylan against the Abyss. Could she really let him go once he was hers?

And she didn't have just herself to consider anymore. Drago, she knew, was already attached to Telemachus. How would her newly adopted son feel if he came to depend on Telemachus as a surrogate father only to be whisked away with the chance of never seeing Telemachus again? But on the other hand, she knew the possibility of that was very high whether or not anything else happened between herself and the Lieutenant Commander.

Of course, she could be wrong about this whole thing. He had left it up to her to make the next move, as a Nietzschean woman should. But what move was it that he was hoping she would make? Could he really want to be tied to her permanently, for her to claim him? In that moment, she had never wished so strongly that her star existed, that her Avatar powers were still with her. To even know a hint of what he felt would make all of this so much easier.

Alura sighed and pushed away from the door. Quietly asking the ship's systems to turn off the lights in the living room, she made her way into her new bedroom and lay down. She was much too tired to make such an important decision right now. But as she drifted off, Alura's brain was still swirling with possibilities.

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**Preview: **Drago has a nightmare. Alura asks Telemachus for a little time to adjust to her new life before she makes a decision about him. Beka gets mad.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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Trance walked slowly down the corridor, faltered slightly, and started walking again. She stopped in front of Dylan's door but did not knock. Instead of going directly to his quarters after Alura had told her that Dylan wanted to talk to her, Trance had gone to obs to check the plants and then to med deck to make sure everything was cleaned up. She was very nervous to see Dylan for the first time since the small, impulsive kiss that had happened between them.

_It meant a lot more to you than that_, a voice in her head taunted.

Trance sternly told the voice to shut up. She stared at the metal door for several minutes.

_It's late, _she rationalized. _I'm sure he's in bed now. I'll just see what he wanted in the morning._

She had just turned away from the door when it slid open.

"Trance?"

Dylan's voice sounded hesitant, unsure. Trance silently berated herself. The kiss must have been as much, if not more, of a surprise for him than it was for her. And then she had avoided him all day. What must he be thinking, feeling? Trance felt terrible. She wasn't here to add to Dylan's burdens, but to lighten them, to help him carry the load no one person should have to bear. She turned back toward him and smiled shyly, apologetically.

The man she loved waved her into the first room of his quarters, his office, watching her with guarded eyes. It had been so long and they had come so far since he had last worn that expression around her that it physically hurt to see him wearing it now. But then he sent her mind reeling in a whole new direction when he suddenly took her into his arms and kissed her. This kiss was entirely different than the first. It was very purposeful on his part just for a start.

Trance's brain stopped working a few seconds into the kiss, feeling Dylan's soft lips molding to her own at the same time that his emotions washed over her. Nervousness, desire, hope and love. It was enough to make her gasp at the loss when his lips left hers. She looked up at him with a dazed expression from the safety of his arms.

"To get over the awkwardness of the first kiss," Dylan explained gently.

Trance laughed softly at his logic and Dylan smiled, his nervousness dissipating. It made the other feelings come through even stronger.

"That's a very good tactic, Dylan. Should we see if it works to get past the surprise of the second kiss?"

Dylan grinned in answer to her playful smile and question. He dipped his head and mated their mouths once more. This kiss was deep and exploring, and Trance could not help the whimper that escaped her. Dylan pulled back slowly, taking a step back from her. Trance let him go, waiting patiently as he reined in his desire for her.

"There are a lot of reasons we shouldn't do this right now," Dylan started slowly. "But none of them can compare to my love for you. Love is the greatest power in the universe, and I've come to realize that hiding my love for you or keeping it locked away because of duty doesn't make me stronger. Accepting it, embracing it, hoping that you feel the same way, makes me feel I can take on anything. But whether or not we act on it is up to you."

Trance felt happy tears welling in her eyes during Dylan's speech. She blinked them away and took a step toward Dylan. He didn't reach for her or move closer himself, wanting the choice to be hers completely.

Trance gently looped her arms around his waist and stood on tiptoe, lifting her mouth in offering to his. He smiled before his head swooped down to re-establish the intimate contact. His arms encircled her again, making her feel that she was a part of him. When their mouths parted to take in much needed oxygen, neither one of them moved away from the other.

"I love you, Dylan Hunt," Trance said seriously.

"I love you, too, Trance Gemini," Dylan responded.

Trance smiled happily and looked past him to his personal living space. It was a bit too soon for total intimacy, but she didn't want to leave him yet and they both needed their rest.

"Can I stay with you tonight, Dylan? Just to sleep in your arms," she asked hopefully.

Dylan smiled down at her and Trance reached up a hand to trace the laugh lines bracketing his mouth. Dylan lightly caressed her cheek with his fingertips, following the line of her cheekbone all the way to the top point of her left ear. Trance shivered at the pleasurable sensations that coursed through her.

"I'd like that," Dylan answered softly.

They turned and walked hand in hand into his sleeping quarters.

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Alura was awakened in the middle of the night by faint cries and whimpering. Disoriented only momentarily by her new bedroom, Alura quickly scrambled up and into the living room. The distressed sounds were coming from Drago's room.

She walked in to find him kicking his feet, obviously in the throes of a nightmare. He cried out again and she flinched, wondering what he was dreaming. About to reach out to wake him, her heart broke for him when he screamed.

"MOMMA!"

Alura quickly gathered her son into her arms, soothing him gently when he suddenly woke. He clung to her tightly and cried for several minutes, his sobs fading into hiccups and finally silence. When Drago peered up at her through eyes shiny and red from tears, she smiled gently at him.

"Do you want to tell me what your nightmare was about?"

Drago looked troubled, but answered quietly, "Magog killed you and I had to go live with Olma again."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm fine. And you'll never have to go live with Olma again, I promise."

"Okay," Drago said softly.

He lay his head back down on her shoulder and sighed quietly. Alura instinctively rocked him for a few minutes, remembering that as children whenever one of them had had a bad dream they would climb into bed with the other until morning.

"Would you like to stay in my room for the rest of the night?" she asked.

When Drago immediately nodded, Alura carried him into her room and tucked him in beside her. As she watched him drift back to sleep, she hoped that the nightmare wouldn't be a recurring one. It almost made her thankful that she could no longer dream.

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"Enter," Alura called when Telemachus knocked on the door in the morning.

Telemachus smiled at her and at Drago. Drago grinned back around a forkful of cold ham. They were eating her normal breakfast of cold meats, cheese and fruit, her favorite of the choices available from the organic replicator. Telemachus moved to the machine and requested the same meal in a bigger portion and sat down to join them. The three of them ate in companionable silence.

When they had finished their breakfast, Alura directed Telemachus to the area in front of the sofa which she had decided was the best place to practice. She allowed herself to look into his eyes for the first time that day. She didn't have to have her Avatar abilities to see that he desperately wanted to talk about what had happened the night before. But she wasn't ready, and it wasn't a conversation she wanted to have in front of anyone, even Drago.

"Drago's just going to watch the Tai Chi session this morning," she informed Telemachus. "He can decide whether or not it's something he wants to learn."

Telemachus nodded and looked at the boy sitting on the sofa. Alura noticed the double take Telemachus executed when he noticed Drago's attire. Her son was wearing the same pants as the day before, but was now clothed in a t-shirt that had obviously not been made for a child. The sleeves, meant to be short, came all the way down to just past his elbows, and the material of the body had been cut to hang a few inches past his waist.

"Rommie's cleaning his shirt and finding someone who would be willing to sew him some clothes. Until then, we have to make do."

Telemachus nodded and moved into the position they usually began their morning sessions with. Alura allowed herself to focus solely on the relaxing martial art for a full forty minutes. When they had finished, she slipped her shoes on for the walk to obs. There was no way they had enough room to spar in her suite, no matter how much bigger it was than her former room.

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Alura was demonstrating a hold on Telemachus when Beka walked onto obs deck. Beka was pretty sure Telemachus could have broken free if he was willing to gut the woman with his arm spines, but evidently getting free wasn't that important. Then, Drago asked a question about that very move and Alura demonstrated the fact that Telemachus didn't actually have the wiggle room he needed to get a good swing in.

Beka moved her gaze to Telemachus' face and found him watching her with a dark expression. Not sure she wanted to know why he was looking at her like she was an intruder, Beka turned her attention back to Alura. The other woman evidently felt her stare, because she let go of Telemachus and moved toward her son. The lioness protecting her cub. It would have been cliche but for the feeling Beka got that were she ever to cross Alura when it came to her son, Alura would tear Beka apart with her bare hands.

Despite her curiousity over the child, Beka had no intention of doing anything to or about him. She owed Tyr that much. She didn't, however, feel any kindness to Alura because of who her father had been. Beka rationalized it by pointing out to herself that the Tyr from Alura's reality was not the Tyr of this reality. Not _her_ Tyr... the one she had loved but had betrayed anyway for the good of Dylan and his precious Commonwealth.

But Dylan's way of fighting the impending darkness was the best way she had come across so far, and until something better came along, she intended to stay right where she was. That didn't mean that she had to like who she was stuck here with.

"You said you weren't going to have time for this anymore," Beka accused.

Alura's eyes flashed. "Do you see anyone here doing Tai Chi? No. Nietzscheans train to fight from the time they are old enough to say the word until they are too old to do so. We aren't going to stop just because you want something else, _Captain_."

Beka didn't like the way Alura said her title, as if being a Captain was something to look down on. She raised her voice to near shouting level, "I am the Second In Command on this ship, and while you are onboard, you will address me with the proper respect!"

"Respect has to be earned," Alura said coldly.

In a softer tone, she said, "C'mon Drago," and the two Anasazis left the room.

Beka stared after them for a few minutes, wondering if insubordination was enough to get Alura into trouble with Dylan.

When a throat was cleared somewhere behind her, Beka finally acknowledged the glare Telemachus had directed at her when she had first entered the room. "_What_?"

A muscle in his jaw jumped before he answered her with deadly calm, "Not everything is the way you want it to be, Captain Valentine. I should have spoken up when you approached me yesterday. Even without Drago in her life Alura would not have wanted to teach you Tai Chi. I knew this, but because I have a lower rank than you on the Andromeda, I said nothing, not wanting your anger directed at me. But Alura is not..."

Telemachus faltered and Beka stared at him suspiciously. He had been about to reveal something, but what?

"She's not what?"

"Under your command. She has the right to choose her friends. For whatever reason, she has not chosen you. Leave her alone."

Telemachus turned and left obs, anger practically radiating from the Nietzschean in visible waves. Beka watched him walk toward his quarters, knowing he was on duty soon on command deck and still had to change into his uniform. She had never really cared about learning some ancient Earth meditation technique; she had simply wanted an opportunity to study Alura. Find out what her strengths and weaknesses were, but mostly what secrets she was hiding. But it didn't appear that Alura would be letting her in anytime soon.

Beka knew when people had secrets, she had spent most of her life hiding her own and she recognized the signs. She knew Trance believed that her daughter had a reason for keeping her past from all of them, but sometimes the red and gold alien was just too trusting, a trait Beka had prided herself on never having.

A slow smile spread across Beka's face when she remembered just how upset her argument with Alura had made Telemachus. If she could find a way to drive a wedge between Telemachus and Alura and rekindle the friendship that had begun with the Nietzschean Lieutenant Commander before the other woman had come into their lives, would Telemachus tell her what he knew? She would have to wait for the perfect opportunity to find out.

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Dylan began the afternoon's senior staff meeting as soon as every member of his inner circle was present.

"I received a communique from Tri-Lorn yesterday. According to the report, rules of engagement have been decided upon in the Commonwealth civil war. The major Commonwealth-held planets will be neutral ground, with the Triumvir in charge of each system acting as Commander-In-Chief to the forces of each planet."

"What does that mean for us?" Beka asked.

Dylan sat back further in his chair and sighed, "Tri-Lorn has made it clear that if we are in desperate need of repair or personnel changes, we will be safe on Tarazed."

"Well, that's good news, isn't it?" Harper asked, his face twisted in a confused half-grimace due to Dylan's serious tone.

"Yes and no," Trance answered softly. "It's good to know where we stand, but setting out rules of engagement means that this civil war is now official. The Commonwealth is being torn apart."

"Sorry, Dylan," Harper said sincerely.

Dylan smiled sadly at the engineer. To the assembled group, he finished his annoucement, "Tomorrow we have a scheduled rendezvous with a liaison from Tri-Lorn. He'll be bringing us more detailed information Tri-Lorn didn't have time to include in his message. All of this will be relayed to department heads and squad leaders to pass on to the rest of the crew. Dismissed."

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Telemachus waited silently in his chair as Beka, Harper and Rommie left the meeting room. He watched as Trance got up from her chair and stood behind Dylan, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Dyaln's tense expression eased considerably. The two had always had a closeness that Telemachus had envied, but there was something more there now.

If he was reading their body language right, Trance and Dylan were now in a fledglng relationship. When he had first come onboard the Andromeda, Telemachus might have looked down on a High Guard officer fraternizing with a crew member, but he knew Dylan and Trance well enough now to simply be happy for them. They deserved whatever happiness they could find in these dark times. He dared to dream that he, too, would soon have a relationship to draw strength and comfort from.

Which led to the reason he had stayed behind when the meeting ended.

"Trance, I would like to ask a favor of you," Telemachus said.

The red-and-gold alien he hoped would soon be his mother-in-law turned an expectant gaze in his direction.

"Alura has asked that I tutor Drago in Nietzschean customs and culture since her own knowledge of our history is limited. We haven't had a chance to discuss the details of when the lessons will take place, and I'd like to have some time after my suty shift to discuss things with Alura."

Trance nodded her understanding of the situation, obviously still waiting for his favor to be asked.

"As Drago's adoptive grandmother I was hoping you could use the excuse of wanting to get to know him better on your own to allow me some one on one time with Alura so we can talk freely without Drago there."

Trance smiled. "Of course, Telemachus. I _would_ like to get to know him anyway."

The look in the woman's eyes told him that she knew he had more than just Drago's education on his mind to speak with Alura about. Telemachus gave Trance a grateful smile and inclined his head to Dylan before taking his leave of the couple to head back to command deck for the remainder of his shift.

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When the knock came on the door late in the afternoon, Alura glanced up from the holo-novel she had been reading aloud to Drago, _The Life Story of Alexander the Great_.

"Andromeda?" she queried softly.

The Andromeda AI's disembodied voice told her, "It's Trance."

"Come in," Alura called, knowing the Andromeda would send the invitation out into the hall. Then to Drago, "We'll read some more tonight before bed, okay?"

"Okay," he easily agreed, getting up and going into his room.

Alura set down the holo-novel and stood up to greet her mother, who pulled her into a hug. Trance looked surprised at the first _whoomp_ of the basketball against the wall in Drago's room, but she smiled when she realized what the boy was playing.

"Dylan gave him the ball at lunch and promised to teach him to play soon. Can I get you anything?" Alura asked as she and her mother sat down on the sofa.

"No, thank you. I came by because I know Telemachus is going to be teaching Drago Nietzschean history and culture, and I was wondering if I could help tutor him too. He'll need a well-rounded education."

"I know, and thank you. There's only so much I can teach him myself."

"And you'll need a little time for yourself as well," Trance said softly.

Alura smiled faintly, thinking that rather than alone, she wanted free time to spend with the other Nietzschean male onboard. She would die before she would send Drago away, but always having him underfoot would not be conducive to feeling out the possibility of a relationship. But that thought led to another concern to add to her list about whether Telemachus would really want to be her mate. She already had a child, and not of his bloodline.

As her first mate, it would be his right for her first children to be his. But she could not change her circumstances, and even if she could, she wouldn't. Would he be willing to accept Drago as his first son, his heir, despite who Drago's biological parents had been? And what if she couldn't bear him children of his own? Avatars had few children, usually only one or two over millenia, and she had no idea what her mixed heritage meant to her breeding abilities, let alone what not having a star meant to her health and life expectancy.

"Don't worry so much," Trance said, interrupting Alura's troubled musings. "Now, how does botany and basic biology sound to start? I think physical sciences like physics and engineering would be Harper's area of expertise, and I can take care of life sciences."

"That's actually a great idea. I had field med training, but I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable as you are." Realizing suddenly how cheerful her mother was being, Alura asked rhetorically, "You told Dylan how you feel, didn't you?"

A warm smile of remembrance lit Trance's entire being. Alura smiled too, wishing she could be that happy and secure in the knowledge that she was loved.

"Your time will come," Trance assured her gently. "Now, if my grandson would like to accompany me to med deck, we can start his first lesson."

Alura called Drago into the room, knowing he had been listening to their conversation.

"Yes, Momma?"

Alura smiled widely. She couldn't seem to stop herself from smiling anytime he called her that.

"Would you like to go with Trance now?"

"Okay," Drago said reluctantly. He turned to Trance, "What's botany?"

"The study of plants," Trance answered.

Excitement suddenly lit Drago's face. "Are you going to teach me how to take good care of my fern?"

He had waved an arm in the direction of his room when he asked, and Trance smiled.

"You'll be an expert before you know it."

"Okay," Drago answered, already moving toward the entrance door. "Do I have to call you Grandma?"

Trance made a face at the question for Alura's benefit and quickly answered, "No, just call me Trance."

Alura laughed softly to herself as her son and her mother left the room. Turning her attention to the empty walls and surfaces in the living room, Alura decided to make a list of things she wanted to bring from the Dance to make this suite seem more home-like. It was more for Drago's sake than hers. She didn't think the Andromeda could ever feel like a permanent home to her. But she wanted to give Drago as much of a normal life as possible.

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Telemachus anxiously looked at the time readout on his console again. A minute and a half of his shift remained. Telemachus shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He looked down again. One minute and twenty seconds. He sighed.

"You can go, Rhade. Just stop fidgeting."

Telemachus blushed dully at Dylan's words, but could not help being grateful for the extra minute.

"Thank you, Captain."

He was already on his way out the door when he heard Dylan say, a smile in the human's voice, "You're welcome, Commander."

It only took a few seconds for him to decide not to change out of his uniform before going to see Alura. Why waste the extra minutes when he didn't know how long Trance would have Drago? He walked swiftly to Alura's door and knocked on the metal surface. It slid open soon after to reveal Alura smiling shyly at him. She stepped to the side and waved him into the room.

When the door was closed again, she stepped closer to him and lightly kissed his lips. Since she had initiated the contact, he felt comfortable enough to take it a step further, putting his arms around her and deepening the gentle kiss into a passionate one. Alura was the one to pull back after a minute, avoiding his eyes.

Telemachus watched her, wondering why she had broken the contact.

"I know we haven't had a chance to talk about last night yet," she started, "and I know it's up to me to decide where we go from here, but I need a little time."

"Can I ask why?" Even to his own ears his voice sounded quiet and hurt.

Her gaze flew to his, and she moved close to him again, lifting one hand to rest it on his chest.

"You mean a great deal to me, Telemachus. More than I can say until I make my decision. Despite the fact that I am not a full-blooded Nietzschean, for me there is only one place we can go forward from here..." She lifted her hand to stop him from speaking when he would have told her that he wanted that. "But before I can ask you I have some thinking to do. My life has changed a great deal since I came to this reality, this time, and I... I just need a little time, okay?"

Telemachus squared his shoulders. He didn't want to wait. He wanted to be hers now. But he could understand the enormity of her situation. And if, the Divine forbid, she did decide that she didn't want to be mated to him, better to find out before it actually happened.

Telemachus nodded but took a step away from her. Away from temptation. No matter how much he understood her side of things, he wouldn't make it easier not to make a decision by spending all his free time with her. If she truly wanted him as a part of her life, she had to claim him.

"Until you make your decision, I think we should limit seeing each other to our morning sessions and when you drop Drago off for his lessons," he told her softly. Alura looked sad but she nodded, so he continued, "I'm never on duty the hour immediately following dinner, so I think that would be the best time. You can just send him to me in the mess hall when the two of you are done eating."

"Thank you," she said softly as he left the room, her voice sad.

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Alura wiped away the tear that slid down her cheek when Telemachus left her suite. She understood that it would be hard to be around each other until she made her decision... for both of them... but she had never considered that he would want to keep their contact to a minimum. For a moment she wondered if he was punishing her for her indecisiveness, but she knew the separation would hurt him as well. From his reaction to her request for more time, she knew now that he did want to be her mate.

Knowing she wouldn't be completely happy again either until the situation was resolved, Alura decided to go through her list of concerns and address each one. Whether or not he would agree to her proposal was no longer a major concern, though she still had a lingering doubt that she could be enough for him.

As for Drago, Alura knew Telemachus was already starting to love the little boy, and even if he didn't want to adopt Drago, did it matter? Drago would be her heir, no matter what Telemachus decided in that regard, and she had more than enough material wealth for Drago to live comfortably for the rest of his life. Drago would be Alpha of Kodiak Pride, such as it was, when he was of age, so he didn't really need whatever position being Telemachus' son would provide.

That left her past, her future on the Andromeda and her questionable ability to bear his children. Everything that she had shared with him so far, he had accepted, and much better than she could have hoped. If he ever wanted to know more about her past, she decided, she would tell him. She knew in her heart that she could trust him not to pass on what shouldn't be known by others.

She could always ask him to leave with her if staying on the Andromeda stopped being an option for her. Alura would never stop fighting the Abyss, no matter where she ended up, so maybe Telemachus didn't actually have to be on the Andromeda to be a part of the fight. And even if he did stay, she would be devastated to leave him even if he wasn't her husband. So why shouldn't she accept whatever time she was given with him?

Alura left her suite and headed for med deck. As soon as she walked in, Trance turned to look at her with a worried expression.

"What's wrong?" her mother asked.

"Hopefully nothing," Alura answered.

She smiled at Drago when he waved at her from a work station in a corner of the room. Drago turned his attention back to the microscope in front of him.

"I need you to give me a complete physical."

"You want me to try to figure out if there're any physical side effects to you not having a star?" Trance asked.

Alura sighed, "It would be good to know if there's a chance I'll have a normal life span, but I haven't felt sick or weak. Mostly I need to know if I can have children."

Trance's eyebrows rose. "Am I safe in assuming that these children would be three quarters Nietzschean?"

Alura blushed. "Please keep it quiet until... until I actually ask him."

Trance pulled Alura into a tight hug, whispering in her daughter's ear, "Congratulations, Alura. I know you two will be very happy together."

Alura wondered if her mother was giving her a glimpse of the future by using the word "know" instead of "hope". But somehow she couldn't bring herself to ask. When Trance patted a nearby examination table, Alura settled onto it, prepared to be subjected to needles and scans. After a barrage of tests and a quick trip to get her medical records from the Dance and bring them to Trance, Alura left med deck with Drago happily babbling about the things he had already learned in his first day of botany.

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**Preview:** The liaison from Tri-Lorn (a familiar face) shows up with news, supplies and messages from one crew member's family.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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Alura was getting Drago's breakfast from the room's organic replicator after her morning shower when the holographic Andromeda appeared.

Alura smiled at the holograph, "Good morning, Andromeda."

Andromeda's face remained on the blank side instead of smiling slightly as she usually did. "Commander Rhade asked me to deliver a message to you."

"Yes?" Alura prompted, feeling as if the holograph was avoiding reciting the message to avoid hurting her.

Even without the empathic abilities her star had once granted her, Alura could read 'people' when she concentrated. And despite Andromeda's stoic façade, Alura knew the ship felt for her. Maybe not as much as the AI felt for Dylan and his inner circle, but Alura talked to the Andromeda almost as much as she talked to the Andromeda's crew.

"He is unable to meet with you this morning due to Captain Hunt requesting he start his shift early because of the scheduled arrival of Tri-Lorn's liaison. He asked that I tell you to proceed with the plan for Drago's lesson this evening."

Alura had a fair idea now of why the Andromeda's AI had been hesitant about the message. "Andromeda, how much earlier does his shift start?"

For just a moment, Alura thought she saw the holograph wince.

"Thirty minutes."

Closing her eyes against a wave of pain, Alura nodded, knowing the holograph would disappear on her own, having completed her purpose. So Telemachus hadn't technically lied in his message. He was just using the excuse presented to him to avoid her this morning. It hurt almost as badly as a straightforward lie would have. But, she knew he was hurting, too, waiting for her decision. Until Alura heard from her mother about the medical tests, they would both continue to suffer.

Drago came out of the bathroom and sat down in the seat that had very quickly become his. He ate quietly for several minutes before glancing at the main door and then at her.

"Where's Telemachus, Momma?"

Alura pasted what she hoped passed for a smile on her face and answered, "He got put on duty early today, sweetie. You'll see him after dinner for your lesson."

Drago smiled and nodded before tucking back into his food. Alura forced herself to eat her own breakfast, not truly tasting what was in her mouth.

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Telemachus waited patiently one step behind and to the side of Dylan. Trance was on Dylan's other side. Telemachus had avoided looking at her as much as possible; he didn't want to be reminded of Alura any more than he had to be while on duty.

The three of them were waiting to greet the liaison sent by Tri-Lorn. A Commonwealth vessel about a quarter the size of the Maru had just been landed beside Beka's precious ship, and they were waiting for the Captain to step out into the hangar. Telemachus was not looking forward to playing host to some spoiled ambassador, but at least the duty would take his mind off... other things.

But as a man stepped from the new vessel, Telemachus went completely still. Their liaison was not going to be able to take his mind off Alura. If anything, Achilles Renier was just as likely as Trance to remind him of Alura. The last time Achilles had been onboard the Andromeda, Telemachus had easily identified him as competition. He stopped just short of growling at the thought.

Achilles immediately strode to Dylan, offering his hand to the heavyworlder. The two men shook hands and Achilles smiled in Trance's direction.

"Welcome back to the Andromeda Ascendant, _Captain _Renier," Dylan said when he noticed the new rank insignia on the Nietzschean's High Guard uniform.

"Thank you, Captain Hunt. Tri-Lorn asked for volunteers and out of those who came forward, I was the only one with the necessary rank and security clearance who had actually had personal contact with you already."

Dylan nodded his understanding. "We have a formal lunch scheduled for you and the senior staff in a couple hours. Until then, shall we adjourn to my office?"

Achilles indicated the case in his hand that Telemachus assumed held instructions and information from Tri-Lorn.

The blonde Nietzscean answered simply, "I think that would be best."

Dylan led the way into the corridor, Trance and Achilles side by side making small talk behind him, and Telemachus brought up the rear. Telemachus bristled when the group met up with Alura and Drago in the hall and Alura greeted Achilles warmly. Full introductions were made between Alura, Achilles and Drago. To his credit, Achilles moved on from the shock of learning of Tyr Anasazi's children relatively quickly.

Achilles asked Alura, "Will you and Drago be at the lunch?"

Dylan cleared his throat before Alura could answer, saying, "If you'd like her to be. Alura, it will be in exactly two hours on obs deck."

"Thank you, Dylan," Alura responded. "We'll see you later, Achilles."

"I look forward to it," their guest said.

Alura smiled at Telemachus, and his lips quirked up slightly before he remembered that he was avoiding her. He forced his face to become blank. He watched with regret as Alura sighed and continued down the hall with Drago trailing after her, a confused look on the boy's face.

Telemachus and Trance walked with Dylan and Achilles to Dylan's office. Trance left for med deck and Telemachus headed for command, leaving the two Captains to their meeting. An hour later, Telemachus received a summons from Dylan. Beka shot him a questioning gaze from her spot near the pilot controls, but he had no idea why Dylan would want him so soon, so he simply shrugged and left.

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Dylan didn't glance up when Telemachus entered his office. His only Nietzschean officer had been out of sorts for a couple days, and Dylan had noticed that the arrival of Achilles Renier had put him in an even worse mood. Telemachus didn't let it affect his work, of course, but he wasn't that difficult for Dylan to read. Trance having let him in on the romantic situation between Alura and Telemachus helped. Achilles was evidently also interested in Alura.

At the moment, Achilles was in Dylan's sitting room, respecting Dylan's need to give Telemachus the news he had called him into his office for alone. As soon as Dylan was done with Telemachus, he and Achilles would continue their discussions of what Tri-Lorn had been able to send including the diplomatic mission the Andromeda would go on in a week to attempt to get a neutral planet with a large military force to join Tri-Lorn's side of the Commonwealth civil war.

"Rhade, I have two messages here for you, one from each of your parents."

Telemachus stiffened but took the two communiqués from Dylan, saying, "Thank you, Captain."

He turned to go, but Dylan spoke again, "That wasn't all, Rhade." Telemachus dutifully turned his attention back to Dylan, who continued. "The last time I sent Tri-Lorn a message I asked him to clear you of the charges against you and sent in a promotion request. Both have been granted."

Telemachus stared blankly at him, and Dylan almost laughed. He came around the desk and reached out to replace Telemachus' Lieutenant Commander pin with that of a full Commander.

"Congratulations, Commander Rhade. You've earned it."

The Nietzschean snapped out of his trance and smiled briefly, "Thank you, Dylan."

The two men shook hands and Dylan indicated that Telemachus was dismissed.

"You can go off duty for a half hour now to go over your messages, then I'd like you back on command deck."

Telemachus nodded and left the office. Dylan got up and asked Achilles back into the office to continue their discussions.

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Telemachus made his way slowly to his quarters. When he entered the living room, he sank down onto the sofa. He set his father's message down to save it for after his mother's. From years of experience, he knew Baldur would have sent a diplomatic follow up to whatever Isis' demands were this time. Sighing in resignation, Telemachus played his mother's message, simply wanting to get it over with.

"My son."

Isis' message began in typical fashion, immediately claiming her authority over him. His mother's image was dressed in a tailored outfit of a sleeveless tunic and pants that accentuated her still-youthful figure very well. Nothing but the best for Isis of Majorem Pride. Her dark hair was pulled back severely in a bun at the nape of her neck. She was a very beautiful woman, but haughty and cold to those she believed to be beneath her. Which was pretty much everyone.

"News has reached us that the charges against you have been dropped. There is no longer a need for you to risk yourself unnecessarily on the Andromeda Ascendant. Come back to Tarazed and take back your position with the Home Guard if you feel the need to stay in the military. Your duty is here with your Pride. You will never command the respect of the Alpha you are meant to be if you do not look after the interests of your Pride first. It is far past time that a man of your position and age had a mate, preferably more than one. You need heirs. We will discuss suitable women when you come home."

The message ended there, and Telemachus stood up, pacing from one end of the room to the other with his jaw clenched. He had no intention of leaving the Andromeda anytime soon, but how was he supposed to tell his mother that without her making his life more difficult? When Isis' mother, his grandmother, had died five years ago, Isis had become Matriarch of Majorem Pride. His grandfather, Perseus, was still a strong Alpha male at 67, but Isis had been trying to groom Telemachus to take his place for years.

When he had left the Home Guard to join the Commonwealth High Guard, taking a pay and rank cut in order to see more of the universe, his mother had been livid. Only the fact that he had been given an important mission capturing Tyr Anasazi had made her calm down. If he wasn't the only male child she had, Telemachus knew Isis would have disowned him when he was accused of treason. Giving up momentarily on trying to think of a compromise she would agree to, Telemachus sat back down to listen to his father's message.

"Telemachus."

The miniature holographic image of his father smiled in greeting. Though prematurely grey, probably from having to deal with Isis for thirty years, Baldur Rhade was still a striking male in prime physical condition. Because he was not of Majorem Pride by birth but by marriage, Baldur could never be the Alpha male of the Pride. It was something Telemachus had at times regretted. Telemachus did have a sense of duty to his Pride, but having been Admiral of the Home Guard he also felt responsible for the whole of Tarazed. And he would not do any of the people of his home planet any good by hiding on Tarazed and waiting for the Magog worldship to show up and destroy it.

And now there was Alura. Whatever she decided, however long it took her to decide, he couldn't run the risk of never seeing her again. It would destroy him. If he did choose to go back to Tarazed and allow his mother to finish grooming him for his future position, would Alura care enough to come to him when she made her decision? Sighing, Telemachus turned his complete attention to his father's message.

"I am sorry I was not able to calm your mother down before she sent out her message. I will continue to work on her, make her see that what you are doing is for the good of everyone." His father's image smiled again, "Congratulations on your new commission. I know how hard you've worked for it. I'm proud of you, Telemachus. Your mother may have a point about needing a wife though; I'd like grandchildren." Baldur's eyes twinkled. "I hope to hear from you soon, son."

Telemachus sighed again. His half-sisters had children, and though his father loved them as he would his own grandchildren, Telemachus was Baldur's only child. Baldur had been in an accident that had left him sterile soon after Telemachus had been born. Isis had immediately taken a second husband, who had given her only female children, two of them. Between them, Telemachus' sisters had eight children.

Thinking of children made Telemachus think of Alura again and the ready-made family he would have with her and Drago. Would any children they might have be as colorful as Alura was? Telemachus smiled at the thought. But remembering the comment Achilles had made the first time he had left the Andromeda, Telemachus frowned. Would Isis accept Alura? He wasn't really sure. He knew Baldur would simply because he wanted his son to be happy.

Baldur had found his own happiness with his second wife, a sterile Nietzschean named Jess who he had worked with in the Tarazed police force. They had been married when Telemachus was ten, and he thought of the sweet woman as a second mother. Telemachus knew he was the only reason Baldur stayed and put up with Isis. Baldur and Jess would have been very happy living their own little lives, just the two of them, if it weren't for the fact that they both loved him.

Telemachus didn't just have the fact that Alura was half-Avatar to worry about when it came to his mother. Despite the fact that her own son was the genetic reincarnation of his ancestor, Gaheris Rhade, Isis did not believe in the second coming of Drago Museveni. She had hated Tyr Anasazi, and anyone that had followed him was not worth the air they breathed. How would she feel having Tyr's daughter married to her son?

Telemachus closed his eyes in pain and hoped he _had_ a reason to worry.

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During the lunch in honor of his visit, Achilles had been seated between Dylan Hunt and his SIC, Beka Valentine. It had not allowed him to speak to Alura, who with her son had been placed at the other end of the table with Harper and Trance, so after the meal, just before going back into his closed meeting with Dylan, Achilles had asked to eat dinner with she and Drago. Knowing from the last time he had been onboard that she enjoyed his company, and knowing Telemachus would not be sitting with her, Alura had accepted.

Achilles greeted she and Drago with a genuine smile that they both returned. While the three of them ate, Achilles regaled Drago with stories of his nieces and nephews, as well as the adventures he and his siblings had been a part of growing up in the family compound on Tarazed. Many of the stories were funny, and Alura found herself truly enjoying Achilles' company.

But as the stories wound down while Achilles ate his meal, Alura felt her gaze being drawn three tables away to where Telemachus sat with some of the Commonwealth crewmen. When his eyes moved in her direction, she looked down at her plate, pretending fascination with the pasta there.

A few minutes later, she glanced in his direction again, only to meet his eyes, which had already been on her, for a split second. This time, it was he who turned away. Alura let out a small sigh and looked up to find Achilles watching her silently. She bit her lip and shrugged slightly. Achilles gave her an understanding look.

As soon as Drago was done with his meal, he started fidgeting in his seat and glancing across the room to Telemachus' table. Alura smiled to herself but waited for her son to say something. It only took half of a minute.

"Can I go sit with Telemachus until it's time for my lesson, Momma?"

"Don't you want any dessert, Drago?" she asked.

"No, Momma. I'm full."

Drago glanced away again. Alura followed his gaze to catch Telemachus watching her intently. She paled and turned back to her son. Telemachus didn't look happy with her. Alura knew that Telemachus would never take it out on Drago, though. She opened her mouth to let Drago go to him, but she didn't answer soon enough.

"_Please_, Momma!"

Alura's eyebrows rose. Drago must miss Telemachus almost as much as she did if he was begging to head off to a lesson. It made her that much more anxious to get the medical report her mother had said wouldn't be complete until at least tomorrow morning.

"Go ahead. But say good-bye to Achilles first."

Drago got off his chair and walked around the table to Achilles. He held out his hand and solemnly shook Achilles' when it was offered.

"Thank you for joining us at dinner, Captain Renier. You make Momma smile a lot."

Alura blushed at her son's formal yet forward remark. Achilles simply smiled and wished Drago good luck with his lesson. He waited until Drago was with Telemachus to speak to her.

"He's quite extraordinary."

"Thank you," Alura said softly. "I've only had him for a few days, though, so I guess its just Fate that he turned out as well as he did."

"Do you mind me asking about him?"

"No," Alura shook her head. "Our father didn't find out about him until he was a few months old, and when he did he found out something about him that made him want to keep Drago very safe, so he hid him away where no one would find him. Drago was raised in a very strict environment by the power hungry Matriarch of his mother's Pride."

"His mother?"

"Freya's dead, killed by her own Pride, the Orcas, the same day Dad found out about Drago."

"How did you find him if he was so well hidden, did your father tell you where he was before he died?"

Alura opened her mouth and closed it. How to explain without simply telling the truth? She studied the blonde man sitting across from her. Alura always trusted her instincts when it came to people, and she felt that she could trust Achilles. Slowly, softly, she told him the truth. Not everything about her reality, no more than she had told Telemachus, just where and when she had come from, skimming lightly over her position and experience in the Commonwealth, a little about her mother's race, and the circumstances that had led to her adoption of Drago, including her execution of Olma. When she was done, she lifted her eyes to his to see his reaction. Achilles was smiling gently at her, though there was some surprise evident in his gaze.

"I knew the moment I saw you that you were a remarkable woman."

Unable to meet his gaze again after the compliment, Alura went back to her meal, finishing the food slowly. She could admit to herself that on top of trusting Achilles, she was flattered by his attention. Was it wrong to want to keep this man's friendship when she was in love with Telemachus? She didn't think so. After all, it would be ridiculous to expect either of them to stop having friends of the opposite sex, but she still felt guilty.

Was she somehow leading Achilles on, making him think there was a chance for them? She knew Achilles had noticed the looks she and Telemachus had been giving each other and he seemed to accept it. Alura brushed aside her worry. She had done nothing with Achilles that she had any reason to be ashamed of.

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"May I walk you to your quarters?" Achilles asked after dinner.

They had both cleared their table; Achilles helped her with the things Drago had left behind. They were now headed out of the mess.

Alura smiled at him, but said, "Actually, I'm heading to hangar one. I have some work to do on my ship that is easier to do when Drago isn't with me."

"Can I be of assistance?" Achilles asked.

He was intrigued to see the ship Alura called hers. The ship she had come from another time and reality in. And until he left in a few hours, Achilles had no more official duties to complete. Why not spend his time with this beautiful, strong woman he found so fascinating?

Achilles felt Telemachus Rhade's glare on him from across the room and dared to turn his head and smile at the other man. Whatever was going on between Telemachus and Alura had nothing to do with him. His growing friendship with the half-Nietzschean was more than worth having to deal with the animosity of another Pride's future Alpha male. In his heart, Achilles felt that Alura was worth much, much more than that.

"Yes, thank you. Harper's been busy with one of his inventions lately. As long as you're sure you don't mind wasting your time tinkering around on a no-longer-Commonwealth ship."

"Time with you could never be wasted," he said more truthfully than he had intended.

Alura got a worried look on her face. "Achilles..."

They were out in the hall now, alone, and Achilles lifted a finger to touch her lips, stopping her from saying anything else.

"I know," he said gently. "I just want you to know where I stand."

Before she could respond, Beka walked out into the hall and saw them. A slow smile that wasn't in the least friendly crossed the human's face before she walked off down the corridor.

"Have I gotten you into trouble?" Achilles asked Alura when he noticed how pale she had become.

"It has nothing to do with you," she answered softly. "She would have found something else to use against me." Alura sighed, "Can we just go?"

Achilles nodded and moved with her through the Andromeda. As they walked, Achilles considered apologizing for being too forward. But he wasn't sorry for letting her know how he felt, and he didn't want to lie to her. So he let it go, hoping she would do the same.

Alura's ship was the only one in the hangar they entered. And with good reason. His own small ship was in a hangar with Captain Valentine's Eureka Maru, which he considered a hunk of junk. Alura's ship was bigger than both of the other ships put together, and appeared to be a cross of Nietzschean and Commonwealth design. It was a beautiful ship.

"This is the Dance Among The Stars," Alura said proudly.

"You built it."

It wasn't a question, but Alura nodded anyway. "I had help of course. But I designed this version of him."

"Him?" Achilles asked.

"Yes, the ship's AI, Danny, is male."

The door into the Dance opened for Alura, and Achilles followed her inside. He trailed behind her down the hall into a small room. A male voice greeted them before the AI's image came into his line of sight.

"Ah, Commodore, my Commodore."

Achilles saw what appeared to be a human in High Guard uniform standing in the room. Then the holograph caught sight of him and flickered, now dressed in pain black clothing.

"My apologies, Alura. I read male Nietzschean life signs and assumed it was the Commander, if I had known..."

"Danny, it's alright, this is Achilles Renier, a Captain of the Commonwealth High Guard. He knows about us, so you can stay in uniform. But be more careful next time."

"Yes, Commodore," Danny responded, changing back into his uniform. He smiled in greeting at Achilles, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously, "I am honored to meet the rescuer of my beloved Commodore."

Alura rolled her eyes at the endearment, but Achilles grinned and inclined his head slightly to the sophisticated holograph. Danny had as much personality as the Andromeda's android, Rommie. While some people might frown on it, Achilles thought it was good. An AI with emotional attachment to its crew was more likely to protect that crew at all costs. And no matter how much they cost or how powerful they were, ships were not worth more than their crews.

"I thought we'd rip out the EM engine and more permanently connect the new power core while Achilles is here to help me," Alura said.

Danny nodded and began the walk toward the power core room. Achilles and Alura followed behind, Achilles studying the uniqueness of the vessel. It wasn't designed to be strictly a warship from what he could tell. There were common rooms and residential suites off many of the main halls. He would estimate that up to one hundred people could live very comfortably on the Dance. For a moment Achilles wondered if Alura would have already left if it weren't for Trance's presence on the Andromeda. Of course, Telemachus being there probably added to it, too.

They reached the room Alura wanted to work in and after some basic instructions on the difference between what needed to come out and what needed to stay, they set to work. Alura and Achilles worked mostly in silence, one of them asking the other for a specific tool once in awhile. It was a companionable silence, interrupted a few times by Danny asking if they needed anything or how they were doing. They were lugging the main part of the EM weapon husk to engineering to toss it in the scrap heap when Danny appeared again, this time in his plain black clothes.

"Alura, Rommie is on her way to the engineering room to deliver a message," he reported.

"Thank you, Danny," Alura panted.

Achilles motioned with his head for her to keep moving, there was no sense in standing there waiting for the ship-made-flesh with the heavy metal object in their arms. Rommie caught up with them just after they had gotten rid of their burden.

"Captain Renier, Captain Hunt wanted me to remind you that you are scheduled to leave in an hour." Achilles nodded, and Rommie turned to his companion, "Alura, Dylan is going to play basketball with Drago, and Drago asked that you come and watch."

"Are they playing on obs?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Rommie, I'll head that way as soon as I wash up."

Rommie left, and Achilles went with Alura to the quarters she had used before moving onto the Andromeda. There was a large painting of a small cottage with a colorful garden and a fairly large pond hanging on the wall above the bed that Achilles admired after he cleaned up while Alura was taking her turn in the bathroom.

"It's beautiful," he remarked when she came out.

Alura smiled sadly, "Hank, the man who raised me after my father was killed, painted it about a month before he was killed by the Magog. It's the house we lived in when we weren't in space, which wasn't very often."

"Looks like it was peaceful."

"It was, right up until the end."

The way Alura said it made Achilles fall silent. She had lost her home more than once and now she was stuck on a ship where not everyone liked her. It made him want to take her away from it all. If only she'd let him.

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The basketball game was already in progress when Alura and Achilles made their way to obs deck. The table that had been in the room earlier for the formal lunch had long since been removed, and a lone basketball hoop stood near one of the walls. Drago and Dylan were playing half court against Trance and Telemachus. When Achilles and Alura appeared, Dylan asked if they want to join in, but they both declined, content to watch.

Alura was especially glad to be able to just observe the game. It was wonderful to see Drago having such a good time. Although her son had just learned to play and was a lot smaller than everyone else, he still fared better in the game than Trance. And Telemachus didn't have as much practice time in as Dylan did. So Drago and Dylan were already ahead when Achilles told Alura it was time for him to go and asked her to walk with him to his ship.

"Would one of you mind bringing Drago to our quarters when the game is over?" she asked the players.

"I will," Dylan said, smiling as Drago threw the ball.

It bounced on the rim once, twice, then went through the hoop. Dylan gave the boy a high five. Drago tossed an absent-minded wave in Alura's direction. Alura looked at Telemachus, but he had his back to her.

"Thank you, Captain Hunt and Trance, for your hospitality."

After Dylan and Trance responded to Achilles' farewell, Alura walked with him to hangar three. When they reached his ship, Achilles stopped and turned toward her.

"Telemachus is a good man," he said.

Alura's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she could tell Achilles wasn't done with his speech, so she held her tongue.

"He is in line to be Alpha of his Pride one day. I will never have that kind of position, my mother is the sister of Valhalla Pride's Alpha and he has many heirs. When enough time has passed, I would not mind being your second."

Alura was at once flattered and flustered that this man wanted to be her second husband before she had even claimed her first. Achilles was a very handsome, strong man, and she already considered him a good friend. But she didn't think she was Nietzschean enough to consider multiple husbands.

"I don't share well with others," Alura told him softly. "It would be unfair of me to make others do so."

Achilles smiled sadly, lifting a hand to gently caress her cheek, "If you ever reconsider, you know where to find me."

With that Achilles turned away and got on his ship. Alura walked slowly to her room, reaching it right after Dylan and Drago. Drago excitedly told her that he and Dylan had won their game and had another planned for next week. When Drago went into his room to put his basketball away, Dylan told Alura that one of the planets with a large market that was safe for them to visit was just a slipstream jump away and they would be there first thing in the morning. The crew would be given shore leave in five hours shifts, and he had assigned she and Drago to the first group. Alura thanked him and he bid them a good night.

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**Preview:** Shore leave. Also, Beka finally finds out why Alura doesn't like her.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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Drago got ready for shore leave with a mix of enthusiasm and trepidation that Alura found cute. He was excited at the prospect of getting more clothes and books and things, but he was nervous about going planetside for the first time since leaving Midden. For the first time ever really when one took into consideration that the majority of his life had been spent in a handful of rooms, never leaving the structure that had been meant to protect and had almost become his tomb.

If she could Alura would have kept him safe in the circle of her arms until he was full grown and able to defend himself from all foes, but she couldn't. The violent and unpredictable universe they lived in did not allow for such coddling, and Drago was a Nietzschean. If he had any hope of leading his people, he would need to be able to stand on his own two feet from a young age, not depend on her to make everything okay again. She wouldn't leave him defenseless or abandon him in any way, but neither would she monitor his every breath.

While Drago was washing up after breakfast, Alura sent a message through Andromeda to Telemachus, letting him know that she and Drago were among the first group to have shore leave and therefore they would be unable to have their morning session. Since his duty shift didn't start for another three and a half hours, she wondered if he would have found a way to get out of it himself and eventually sent _her_ a message.

Alura sighed, _At this rate, we'll probably never spar again_.

"I'm ready, Momma," Drago said as he came out of the bathroom.

"Okay, sweetie, let's go. We have to go to the Dance before we meet up with the rest of the group."

On the Dance, Danny kept Drago entertained with battle simulations while Alura went into one of the storage rooms to retrieve money to pay for what they would need. Dylan had offered to loan her some Commonwealth credits last night, but she had politely declined. She had credits, and many other types of currency some merchants would respond to with more enthusiasm.

Filling a pouch with more money than she would ever normally consider spending in a month, let alone one day, Alura attached the pouch to her weapons holster at her waist. She felt a bit vulnerable when not wearing the holster, but it had seemed like a good idea to keep the Andromeda crew at ease by not wearing it constantly as she had always done before. Alura now had the excuse of needing the weapons to stay safe on the planet, at least for the time they would be down there.

Alura and Drago said goodbye to Danny and met up with the rest of the group who had first shift shore leave. Alicia Kenyon was among the High Guard officers present, and she joined Alura and Drago when she saw them. Alicia was introduced to Drago. She invited them to call her Lecy as her younger siblings did. Lecy was the oldest of six and offered her assistance in the clothes shopping. Grateful for the help and the companionship, Alura accepted.

The groups from the Andromeda Ascendant boarded shuttles that took them down to the planet from the spacedock where the Andromeda was currently berthed.

After quick deliberation, it was decided that they would go clothes shopping for Drago first so they wouldn't run out of time doing that. Drago tried on every kind of attire Alura could think of, and she bought him everything he wanted. Lecy pointed out that he would grow out of some of the things faster than others, so double were bought in the next largest size for his favorites. Drago was also outfitted with a couple new pairs of shoes.

Lecy tried on some shirts and encouraged Alura to try on a dress she had been eying. It was black, her favorite color choice for clothes since it never clashed with her skin, and deceptively simple when on a hanger. But when she tried it on, she knew she couldn't get it. It had a flaring skirt and hugged her curves in all the right places, but unfortunately it had a low back. Anyone who stood behind her would see her scars.

Alura put the dress back and spotted a blue man's shirt. It was made of a silky material and was beautifully cut. It had also been designed for a Nietzschean, the length of the sleeves and another feature making it obvious.

Alura added it to her purchases, saying with a blush in answer to Lecy's curious look, "It's for Commander Rhade."

"So the rumors are true then, huh?" Lecy asked with a grin.

Alura blinked and stared at the other woman. "There are rumors about us?"

"Oh, yeah," Lecy confirmed. "There have been since about a week after you came onboard. No matter how big a ship it is, the Andromeda is still a small community. Everyone talks about everyone else. There are even bets going as to when you and he will, well, you know."

Alura blushed deeply. "Even though he's a Nietzschean and they don't have casual relationships?"

Lecy gave her an odd look. "You're a Nietzschean, too."

"Of course, but I am also my mother's daughter and I wasn't sure how people would see me because of that."

"No one knows what Trance is, except Captain Hunt if gossip is correct, so it's much easier to classify you as a species everyone can identify."

Alura nodded her understanding.

"And I never said anyone believed you two were _just_ going to jump in and out of bed together."

"Thank the Divine for small favors," Alura muttered.

"So, you want to give me a hint so I can win the pool?"

Lecy winked at Alura to let her know she was kidding, and Alura laughed. Paying for their purchases, they moved down the street to a store that carried holo-novels and texts as well as old fashioned books. Since all three of them were loaded down, Alura hired one of the store's employees to help them carry everything.

Their last stop was a booth that sold hand made toys: wooden ships, puzzle games and many other things. Alura had seen Drago eying them and decided to make up for five years of missed birthdays and holidays. It would not be too many more years before Drago would likely consider himself too old for toys, so all the more reason for him to enjoy them now.

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"Harper to Rhade, come in, Rhade," Harper chanted, waving his hand in front of the Nietzschean's face.

Telemachus blinked and scowled at the human. He had no idea how long he had been staring, but being caught by Harper told him it must have been awhile. Since they were both assigned to the second group with shore leave, Harper had asked if he could tag along with Telemachus. Against his better judgment, Telemachus had agreed, not really wanting to be alone.

Harper had drug Rommie along with them, and the android was now watching Telemachus curiously.

"Never knew you were into jewelry, Rhade," Harper was saying, sweeping an indicating hand over the assortment of rings on the table in front of them.

Luckily, another booth across the street caught Harper's attention and Telemachus was saved from answering.

"Sparky Cola!"

The young engineer took off at a run, and Telemachus and Rommie turned to follow at a more sedate pace.

"Those were wedding rings," Rommie commented.

Telemachus glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I was under the impression that Nietzscheans don't wear wedding rings, preferring helix bands."

Telemachus realized that he and Alura's kiss and everything else that had happened between them was stored in Andromeda's memory. The Nietzschean blushed slightly at the thought. If anything else happened between he and Alura, he'd have to remember to access privacy mode.

"We don't wear rings," Telemachus sighed. "But I'm not sure Alura has helix bands."

Rommie nodded. "Are you going to go back and get the rings, then?"

Telemachus shook his head. "I considered it, but it just doesn't feel right. If things do progress and Alura doesn't have bands, we'll get them the next time we find a Nietzschean artisan."

Rommie laid a comforting hand on his arm and gave him a sympathetic smile before turning her attention to Harper.

"If you bought more than one case of that stuff you better be able to carry it yourself, Harper. I'm not your pack mule."

"Ah, come on, Rom Doll!" Harper whined.

Telemachus rolled his eyes and resigned himself to helping carry boxes of a drink so sweet it rotted teeth on contact.

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After Alura and Drago put away the clothes they had purchased at the market, Alura realized Drago needed something to store his other things in. His new toys, his books and flexies, and the basketball Dylan had given him needed a home. Remembering what was in her room back on the Dance, Alura got an idea.

"Drago, would you like a trunk like mine to keep your stuff in?"

Drago bounced up from where he was seated on his bed, nodding. Alura took his hand and together they walked through the Andromeda to the Dance. She led him straight to her room and the trunk in the corner.

It was actually identical to the one she had in their suite, the two had been a matched set in her father's stronghold when she was growing up. This one now held sentimental objects she didn't necessarily need on a regular basis, but she could easily move them to another storage area so Drago could use the trunk.

Kneeling in front of the piece of furniture, Alura began unpacking items that held more meaning to her than all the treasures she had stored in the bowels of the Dance put together. When she reached the bottom of the trunk, she pulled out a wooden box that had her full name carved into the lid. She opened the box and ran a finger around the edges of the helix bands nestled inside.

Beside her, Drago peered into the box.

"Daddy gave these to me when I turned twelve," she told him of the platinum and gold bands inset with blue stones.

Drago's face furrowed in a puzzled frown. "Why would he give them to you if he didn't know you were his daughter?"

_Oops_, Alura thought. She turned to study her adopted son. Drago was very mature for a five-year-old, a side effect of growing up in the environment he had. Maybe he could handle knowing the slightly complex story of how she had come to be here with him.

Alura stood and moved to sit down on the bed, patting the spot beside her. Drago sat and looked expectantly up at her. In the simplest terms she could use, Alura began to explain the facts of having come from an alternate future.

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Danny watched and listened through the room's sensors as Alura explained her past to her young companion. When she had finished her explanation, his commanding officer and best friend gave Drago a vid-player so he could view images from Alura's past that included Drago or Tyr. Though Drago had a few questions about her explanation, he was taking it very well.

Danny was glad she was revealing as much as she had to Drago, Telemachus and Achilles. He could not grasp at the future as Alura once could, but he had logic systems that led him to believe that someday the full truth of who they were and where they came from would come out. Having people who knew a major portion of the truth and supported Alura would be important when the rest came out.

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Drago was watching one of the vid-files of their father while Alura was going though her clothes when Danny appeared. He was out of uniform again.

"Your mother and Captain Hunt are aboard."

Alura cast a panicked gaze around the room. There was plenty here that she had no intention of ever showing Dylan. Danny noticed her consternation.

"I directed them to wait on command deck."

"Thank you," Alura breathed in relief. "Keep an eye on Drago until I get back, please."

She didn't want to interrupt Drago's trip down memory lane. Even if they were her memories, and not his, that he was visiting. Alura knew she had made the right decision in telling him the truth about herself and where she came from. It would help them understand each other better, and the fact that his other self had loved her when they were both children seemed to have solidified their relationship even further.

On the way out of her former bedroom, she grabbed the vid-player she had prepared for her mother. On it were moments from Alura's childhood that she felt Trance would like to see, including her birth and presentation to the crew. There weren't that many files since Alura didn't feel the need to show Trance any of the times she had been mistreated. And most of the files she had from her own reality's Andromeda were inappropriate at this point in time. If a time came when something she knew would help in the fight against the Abyss or another adversary, Alura would gladly share her knowledge, but until then it was best that the files stay safely hidden on the Dance.

"Mom, Dylan, welcome aboard the Dance Among the Stars."

Trance smiled, and Dylan asked, "Where are all the controls?"

Alura made a sweeping gesture with her hands, "They're recessed into the walls and floors. Without a crew, Danny takes direction directly from me."

Dylan nodded, "You must have a close working relationship with Danny."

"I do," Alura responded. "We've been a team for eight years, until we came here it was just me and him for two years. I don't think there is anyone who will ever know me better than he does."

Dylan nodded again and Alura noticed the picnic basket in one of his hands.

"Planning a picnic?"

Trance answered. "Yes, we're in the third group to go down to the planet and I thought we could take Drago down with us to have a little field trip. There's a nature park not far from the market and I thought we could get in a botany lesson and have dinner before we came back."

"That sounds great, Mom. I'm sure Drago will love it."

Alura turned to go get her son, but her mother called her back.

"I have the results."

Alura turned back anxiously, her eyes wide.

Dylan asked gently, "Would you like me to leave?"

"No, it's fine," Alura answered. "Go ahead, Mom."

"Everything came back pretty much normal for a Nietzschean. There are a few genetic markers left that prove you were once Avatar, but I can see a lot of them have shut down when compared to your old records. There doesn't seem to be any negative effect, physically speaking, of your star being gone."

Alura nodded, glad to know she would at least live a Nietzschean lifespan.

"The, uh, other thing you wanted me to check?" Alura nodded again, knowing Trance was referring to her reproductive state without just blurting it out in front of Dylan. "You appear to be a normal, healthy Nietzschean female in that regard as well."

A smile broke out across Alura's face. She could have babies, she could give Telemachus children and Drago siblings. The universe had just gotten a whole lot brighter.

Alura went to her mother's side and hugged her, whispering, "Thank you."

She turned away again and quickly fetched Drago. When her son, her mother and the man who, if her father had not taken her, would have acted as father to her were gone, Alura went back to sorting through her possessions, putting things she felt wouldn't give anything away into a pile to take to her suite aboard the Andromeda. The other things were packed away again lovingly, her fingers running over some of her uniforms in a caressing manner. Alura sighed heavily when she realized she might never be able to wear them again.

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When Telemachus entered the mess hall for dinner, Beka immediately approached him. He was in no mood to deal with her right now, but she spoke before he could make any kind of excuse to brush past her.

"I just thought you should know that your little girlfriend was making nice with Renier yesterday," she said. "I won't go into detail, but let's just say touching and lips were involved."

"Alura?" Telemachus asked the woman he loved for clarification when Beka was done.

Alura had approached during Beka's speech and she now moved to stand between Telemachus and Beka. The blonde's pale blue eyes went wide when she realized that Alura had heard every word.

Facing Telemachus for a moment, Alura answered his query, "I've never lied to you, Telemachus. Achilles may want more, but he and I are just friends."

When he inclined his head in acceptance of her statement, Alura spun away from him to confront Beka.

"What I do with my friends is no business of yours, Captain Valentine, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't talk to Telemachus about something you know nothing about," Alura nearly hissed.

"I don't trust you," Beka sneered. "And I'm not going to let any of the crew blindly do so either."

Telemachus bristled. So they were supposed to trust Beka, who everyone knew had a shady past that had oftentimes put the Andromeda in danger, but not Alura, who had done nothing but help them since coming to this reality? _Where does she get off?_

"Get over it," Alura snapped. "We're on the same ship for the foreseeable future, just stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours."

Beka's eyes narrowed.

"Dylan still doesn't trust you completely either, otherwise he'd invite you to senior staff meetings and he would have invited you to the lunch yesterday without Achilles making him." Telemachus watched as Alura's eyes blazed at Beka's insinuation. "Why are you so nice to him?" Beka asked. "At least I'm straight forward about not liking you, Dylan can't even give you that courtesy."

"_HE_ DIDN'T KILL MY FATHER IN FRONT OF ME!" Alura yelled.

The confrontation had already drawn the stares of many of those present in the mess hall, but now there were shocked faces and quiet murmurings among the crew. Telemachus grasped Alura's wrist to pull her out of the room, grabbing her around the waist when she shook his hand off. Alura swung around to stare at him, her gaze softening slightly when it met his. She allowed him to lead her out into the hall away from the captivated audience, Beka storming after them.

Telemachus was about to tell the non-Commonwealth Captain off, to find some way of getting her to leave them alone, but Alura pushed away from him and spoke first.

"When I first came onboard, I did try to be civil to you," Alura said to Beka, her voice cold and calm. "If you had been nice to me, even once, I would have been able to separate you from the Beka Valentine in my reality, but you're just like her. Always out for number one, never trusting anybody, willing to betray _anyone_ if it means getting what you want. Even the man who loved you."

"I really killed Tyr?" Beka asked.

Alura stiffened her spine and stared the other woman down, "Right after he told you where he had his fortune, the wealth of the Nietzschean people, hidden. Unfortunately for you, he knew you would betray him, even if he didn't expect you to murder him. He lied. You grabbed what you could on the way out of the palace once I raised the alarm, but you never found the money. There was only one person my father trusted with that secret, me."

Beka opened her mouth, closed it, and turned to walk away. Telemachus waited until she was out of sight before he pulled Alura to him. She seemed to have collapsed in on herself after Beka walked away. She was shaking, and a sob escaped her as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Shh, shh, shh," he soothed gently, wishing he could take her pain away.

When Alura raised a tear-streaked face to his, a pleading look in her eyes, Telemachus scooped her up in his arms and carried her down the hall. He kept her in his arms until they were in her quarters, not caring who saw them. He was hers, whether it was official or not, and he didn't care who knew it. Hell, he _wanted_ everyone to know it. And right now she needed him. He sat down on the sofa with her in his lap, her arms still around his neck. Telemachus gently caressed Alura's back, offering her what comfort he could.

They stayed that way for a while before Alura moved. She placed a soft kiss on his neck, another on the line of his jaw, and then the corner of his mouth. Telemachus could feel the gratitude behind the caresses, so he refrained from responding. She pulled back from him slightly, trailing a finger down the center of his chest. When she raised her eyes to his, he smiled at her.

"You have the day off tomorrow, don't you?" she asked softly.

Telemachus nodded.

"Will you meet me on the Dance at 0800? I'd like to talk."

Realizing that she wanted to talk to him in private and that Drago was due back soon, Telemachus resigned himself to wait until tomorrow to try to work things out with her. Even if she wasn't ready to make her decision, he had missed her too much in the past couple days to keep pushing her away. He wanted desperately to go back to spending his free time with her, and he had missed their morning sessions.

"Okay," he conceded.

Alura got off his lap and Telemachus walked to her door. He turned back and said huskily, "I missed you."

Alura smiled gloriously at him, "I missed you, too."

"Until tomorrow, then," he said and slipped out of the door.

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**Preview:** Trance talks to Alura about her confrontation with Beka. Telemachus and Alura have their meeting.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thought or emphasis.

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Dylan carried Drago into the suite when Alura opened the door. The little boy was asleep with his head on Dylan's shoulder. Alura led Dylan into Drago's room and gently transferred her son from Dylan's arms to his own bed. Alura was surprised when Dylan stayed in the room as she tucked Drago in. When she was done, she gestured for Dylan to precede her out of the room.

In the front room, Dylan smiled at her, "My mother used to tuck the blankets in tight around me just like that."

Alura's smile felt slightly forced, tempered by Beka's words earlier that evening and the absence of her mother or anyone else she knew Dylan did actually like.

"Where's Mom?"

Dylan gave her a puzzled look, probably due to her slightly cold tone, but answered, "Beka approached her in the hall. They're talking."

Alura closed her eyes, and her shoulders slumped slightly. When she opened her eyes again, Dylan was watching her with a worried expression.

"Beka and I... had a _disagreement_," Alura informed the Andromeda's captain. "She's probably complaining to Mom."

Dylan sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He looked a lot older when he was tired, and Alura felt bad for adding to his stress. Especially when she realized her mother would feel it and take it on to herself. And Trance did not need any more weight on her shoulders.

"You want to tell me what the fight was about?"

Alura shifted her weight from one foot to the other then straightened her spine, looking Dylan directly in the eye. How was it that she could face down swarms of Magog and command an entire fleet without breaking a sweat, but facing the disappointment of the heavyworlder before her made her feel like a child? She remembered the first time she had watched the vid of her birth and how gentle he had been with both her mother and Alura's newborn self. Tears and a feeling close to regret had overwhelmed her. Dylan would have been a loving father to her if he had been given the chance.

She supposed a part of her had always wished that she could find a way to start over, to have Dylan as her father, even if it meant dying with he and her mother when she was only ten. To be loved unconditionally for ten years was something she could only imagine. But it would never happen, and she had to let go of the childish fantasy. She had a chance at a much different life now. She was a mother, and hopefully she would soon be a wife as well. While a big part of her hated not being the full warrior she had been before her universe fell apart, she knew she could be content in the path she had now chosen.

Alura sighed. "Beka and I don't get along. I'm sure you've noticed that we have... _clashed_ a few times since I came aboard. She pushed the limits of my patience by trying to drive a wedge between Telemachus and I."

"And?" Dylan prompted.

"And I told her why I don't like her. Why I will probably never trust her."

Dylan's eyebrows drew together in a frown.

Alura took a deep breath to keep the anger and pain from her voice. "The Beka Valentine in my reality murdered my father."

"_Beka_ killed him?" Dylan asked. "What had he done?"

The anger inside snapped to attention again, and Alura's bone blades flared without her meaning for them to. But somehow she managed to keep her voice flat.

"She _murdered_ him to get his wealth. She thought he had told her all his secrets, so he was of no more use to her. Things were different in my reality than they were here. Beka left the Andromeda to find her own fortunes before I was even born. Dad never went through the Route in my reality. He had no desire to lower himself to make a deal with the leader of the Magog. Tyr Anasazi may have been a false leader of the Nietzscheans, but he did a better job keeping his people safe than anyone had the right to ask. When she murdered him, things fell apart. The Nietzscheans splintered again and..." Alura's voice broke. "It was six years before I was able to visit his funeral pyre. They didn't even bother to bury him..."

Alura stiffened when Dylan moved forward and wrapped his arms around her. One hand traveled to her head, soothingly stroking her hair over and over. He made comforting noises and slightly rocked her. After a minute, Alura melted against him, grateful for the chance to give in to the grief and take comfort from someone else's presence. He didn't dislike her. If only because she was the daughter of the woman he loved, Dylan cared about her.

A few minutes later Dylan pulled back and looked down at her. He wiped a tear from her cheek and gave her a small smile. "Okay now?"

Alura nodded. "Thank you, I needed that."

"Alura, as long as you don't get into physical fights with Beka, it's okay for the two of you not to be friends. Nobody gets along with everybody else." Alura nodded again and Dylan finished, "The next time there's a problem that can't be resolved with a little time and space, come talk to me about it, okay?"

"Okay. And thank you, Dylan, for everything."

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Trance entered the room only minutes after Dylan had left. Alura waited for her mother to berate her, but Trance simply looked at her with concern for a few minutes before talking.

"You saw it happen?"

"I was in the next room," Alura answered. "My father often let me watch and listen during his meetings, I suppose because after Drago... I was his only heir. There was a section of wall near the back of the throne room that was just lattice work. I'd stand in the hall on the other side and learn. He was sitting on his throne when she shot him three times with an energy blaster. I ran to the room as soon as she fired the first shot, but he was already dead when I reached him. She took a shot at me, too, but she missed. I believe because of shock. She had never seen me before, and I might have reminded her of you."

"How could she have not known about you?"

"She left the Andromeda after the first time you tangled with the Magog worldship. She'd had enough of risking life and limb for the good of a universe she felt had always dealt her a lousy hand."

Trance nodded and stared off into space for a moment. "You do know they're not the same person, right?"

"Of course," Alura answered with absolute calm. "If they were the same person, I would have killed her already."

Trance looked mildly shocked at the blunt confirmation of violence, but she nodded her understanding again.

"Would it make everyone feel better if I told Beka that she isn't the same as the woman who killed my father?"

"I know it would make me feel better," Trance responded. "Beka _is_ one of my oldest and dearest friends."

"Alright,"' Alura sighed. "I'll go make nice."

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While Trance stayed in the suite to be there in case Drago woke, Alura went in search of Beka. The Andromeda's AI informed her upon inquiry that the second-in-command was on the Maru. Alura walked briskly to the ship she had never been on. The door stood open and she wondered momentarily if Trance had told Beka she was coming. Alura decided it didn't matter.

Alura stepped into the dim interior of the Eureka Maru and bit her lip. She had no idea which way to go.

"Hello?" she called loudly.

Beka came into sight from around a corner, frowning at her.

"I guess you don't know the layout of the Maru like you do the Andromeda."

"No," Alura answered. "I was never on the Maru. Although the Andromeda was just a shell when I eventually found it dead in space, I studied the schematics so that I knew them nearly as well as the Dance."

Beka nodded, understanding dawning in her eyes. Both women avoided prolonged eye to eye contact. Alura knew that Trance would have already calmed whatever self-doubt Beka had undergone from the knowledge that her other self had killed her former lover, and she had no intention of dragging this out.

Alura cleared her throat and began, "I wanted to apologize for my outburst. I know you didn't kill my father. You aren't the Captain Valentine from my reality."

Beka nodded. "And I shouldn't have tried to come between you and Rhade. It's obvious to everyone on the ship that you care very deeply for each other."

"So..." Alura said, holding out a hand. "Allies?"

The knowledge that they would probably never be friends hung silently in the air between them.

Beka pursed her lips for a moment but took Alura's hand and shook it. "Allies."

It was enough for both of them. And more importantly, it would make Trance happy, which was something they both wanted.

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Telemachus woke with a feeling of anticipation, but it took him a few seconds to clear the sleep from his mind and remember why. Alura. She wanted to talk to him. Their separation, his avoidance of her, could soon be over. He intended to apologize for pushing her away when he had known it would hurt both of them, but he also wanted to know what it was she had decided to say to him. After the way he had treated her the past few days, Telemachus knew it was ludicrous to hope a deeper commitment was about to be forged.

Swinging his feet to the floor and standing, Telemachus stretched and quickly finished his morning routine. He had purposely set his alarm for 0715 that morning so he would have just enough time to stretch out, shower, dress and eat before it was time to go meet Alura on the Dance. And he would have no time to worry about what was coming. He allowed only a momentary question of why she wanted to meet on the Dance and not in her quarters on the Andromeda to drift through his mind before he forcefully concentrated on each of the tasks at hand.

Since he had the day off, Telemachus chose to wear black leather pants and a dark red sleeveless t-shirt in place of his uniform. He had noticed Alura's admiration when he had worn similar shirts during their sparring sessions, and he wanted to look good for her. Being a Nietzschean male, he always took pride in his appearance, but this was different. He was dressing for her. Telemachus smiled to himself as he finished getting ready. He exited his room with just enough time left to walk calmly to hangar one.

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Danny greeted Telemachus just inside Alura's ship. The hard light AI holograph looked happy but professional in his uniform. Instead of taking Telemachus to the bridge as the Nietzschean had expected, however, Danny led him to the crew quarters area of the ship. They stopped in front of a door, and Danny turned and winked at Telemachus before disappearing.

Telemachus took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It slid open to reveal a softly lit living room. There wasn't anything personal in the room, making him think it wasn't the room that Alura had used for herself before meeting up with them. Why would Alura want to talk to him here? As if thinking of her had conjured her up, Alura appeared in the other doorway in the room, the one that presumably led to the bedroom of the suite. She smiled warmly at him.

Telemachus forgot to breathe for several minutes. He had never seen Alura in anything but pants. She was now wearing a very simple but beautiful dress. It was floor length, sleeveless and black. The material of the dress clung to her in all the right places and his gaze traveled slowly over every inch of her body. Her feet were bare and there were no gauntlets on her forearms, the skin around her bone blades bare as well. When Telemachus' eyes met Alura's again, she was blushing but still had a happy light glowing in her eyes.

"Come in," she softly invited, stepping backwards into the bedroom so he understood what she meant.

Telemachus swallowed hard and started breathing again. It was a good thing he was a Nietzschean or he wouldn't have lasted that long. Moving closer to her, he took note that her dress had a string tie that appeared to thread through the entire neckline. Alura's long blue hair was loose, falling in soft curls halfway down her back. Telemachus felt his heartbeat kick up a notch. She wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of dressing the way she had if they were simply going to talk.

His eyes scanned the bedroom, which was just as impersonal as the living room. Telemachus noted a dome-covered dish on the edge of the bed with a confused frown. There was absolutely no scent of food in the air, so what was in the dish? He turned toward Alura but forgot what he was going to ask when she walked right up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing the length of her body to his. His hands settled naturally on her hips, holding her close.

"Hi," she said, her dark blue eyes twinkling up at him.

Telemachus smiled in answer, lifting one hand to gently caress her hair. Alura leaned slightly into the caress before moving in even closer. Her lips brushed his lightly, and he had the feeling she was seeking some kind of permission. When she feathered a kiss against his lips the second time, he used the hand in her hair to hold her still and deepen the contact.

They both sighed in relief at the same time and Telemachus smiled briefly against Alura's lips before he let go of any thought but how soft her lips were under his. Telemachus angled his head to capture her mouth more fully with his.

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Alura was thrilled that Telemachus seemed to have completely moved past what had been making him avoid her, but she knew she needed to apologize to him before they could move forward. Reluctantly, she pulled back from their embrace. She smiled reassuringly at Telemachus when he looked concerned at her withdrawal.

Alura moved to the bed and sat down, patting the area next to her. Telemachus sat where she had indicated, watching her expectantly. He was on one side of her and the covered dish was on the other.

"I'm sorry," she started her speech. "I'm sorry I hurt you by making you wait for my decision, but there were things I needed to find out about myself before I could consider asking you to be my husband."

Telemachus reached toward her with one hand as if to stop her, but Alura knew she needed to finish. She reached up and caught his hand with hers, lacing their fingers together.

"Let me finish," she pled.

"If you need to," Telemachus relented.

"Thank you." Alura took a breath and started again. "You'll already be giving up a lot to be with me, so I wanted to make sure that at the very least I could give you a child. I had my mother run some tests and she says there is no physical reason why I couldn't. But you need to understand that even though I can have children, it may be harder for us than it would be with a full-blooded Nietzschean woman." When Telemachus looked like he was going to say something, Alura squeezed his hand lightly so that he would let her finish. "And there are things you may never know about me. If knowing that I love you is enough for you to accept all that, then I have something for you."

"You love me?" Telemachus asked gruffly when she was done talking.

Alura was sure he was asking more to hear her say it again rather than not having believed her.

She smiled warmly, "Yes, Telemachus, I love you."

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Telemachus made a soft sound of need and pulled Alura into his lap. He kissed her deeply, showing her without words that her concerns didn't matter, that he accepted whatever he could have with her. As long as he _could_ be with her.

"I love you, too, Alura," he said once he had pulled his mouth away from hers.

The happiness in her eyes as she smiled at him then was almost too much for him to take in. If he had known she would react with such absolute joy at knowing how he felt about her, he would have told her the minute he had figured it out. Alura reached across the bed and lifted the domed lid covering the dish. Telemachus sucked in a breath at the sight of a beautifully... and expensively... made pair of helix bands.

The traditional DNA strand design of the band was made of platinum and gold, but an extra design had been set in the center of the prominent side of the smaller of the bands, a starburst pattern made up of dark blue sapphires. Alura's helix band had obviously been designed specifically for her. The larger band lacked a starburst, but it did have several sapphires spaced evenly around the band near the top edge.

Alura lifted one in each hand and gave the smaller one to him.

"Do you accept me as your mate, as your first wife?" she asked.

Telemachus smiled lovingly at her and answered simply, "Yes."

Alura smiled back radiantly and gently snapped the larger of the helix bands into place on his left bicep. Now Telemachus was doubly glad he had worn a sleeveless shirt. With a reverence he had never felt before, Telemachus lightly caressed the soft skin of Alura's left arm before putting her band in place. He didn't let go right away, tracing the edge of the band and then the skin above it. Alura shivered and gently moved off his lap, standing in front of him.

Telemachus looked up at her with a sense of loss. But her next action erased any doubt from his mind. Alura slowly untied the string at the neck of her dress. As soon as the bow was undone, the garment slid down her body to puddle on the floor, making Telemachus realize that it was a nightgown and not a dress at all. A nightgown with nothing but her under it.

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Alura bit her lower lip and waited for him to respond in some way. Telemachus didn't disappoint.

"Beautiful," he breathed out.

Alura smiled and accepted her first kiss from her husband when he stood up to take her in his arms. The kiss was gentle and thorough, full of the love they were now free to show each other. Telemachus held her to him gently, almost as if he were afraid she would break. Alura's last rational thought for several hours was that if he let go of her, she might.

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**Preview:** Final chapter! Alura and Telemachus share the happy news with friends and family. Some take it a little better than others.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:** _Italics_ signify thoughts or emphasis.

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Alura and Telemachus walked to lunch hand in hand. They were both wearing sleeveless shirts that made their helix bands very obvious. Alura was back in her customary black shirt and pants. When they reached the table where Drago was sitting with Dylan, Trance and Harper, all four had slightly different reactions to the sight.

Drago sprang up from his seat with an excited squeal, throwing his arms around Telemachus, who immediately picked the boy up and hugged him. The two males had missed each other, and Alura was glad that Telemachus wanted to adopt Drago. It was one of the many things they had discussed in the hours since their mating.

Trance smiled happily at Alura, standing to give her daughter and Telemachus each a hug. Telemachus' was more of a half-hug since his arms still held Drago. There were tears swimming in her eyes when she pulled back to look at them.

"I'm so happy for you both," she murmured.

Telemachus grinned over Drago's head, "Thanks, Mom."

"That's just wrong," Harper said. "Trance is younger than you, Rhade. Or is she?"

The engineer turned to give Trance a calculating stare. Trance's smile only widened at the teasing.

"Congrats, guys," Harper said as he stood to leave. "I'm going to go find Rommie."

Trance and Alura shared a look, and Alura turned her attention to Dylan. The Andromeda's Captain hadn't said anything yet.

"Please, sit," he said, motioning to two chairs across from his.

Telemachus sat down with Drago on his lap, pulling the boy's lunch in front of him so Drago could finish eating. Alura sat down next to him, and Telemachus moved his free hand to her thigh under the table. Her hand covered his a moment later, their fingers lacing together naturally.

"We're going to have a party tonight to celebrate being an accepted part of at least a section of the Commonwealth and having an official mission for the first time in a long time. Would it be okay if we celebrated your marriage at the same time?"

"Yes, Dylan, that would be wonderful," Alura answered.

"Thank you, Dylan," Telemachus added.

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The party went well, with most of the crew drifting through at some point, laughing and talking, eating from the buffet of finger foods along one wall in the mess, which had temporarily been cleared of most table and chairs so everyone could mingle. A table with a small group of presents for the newlyweds sat by the door.

Alura had been touched by the gesture. Lecy had personally handed her a package and given her a hug when she showed up at the party, and outside of Dylan's inner circle, Alura and Telemachus had a few acquaintances each who had given them gifts. Telemachus was wearing the shirt Alura had bought for him on the market planet, his helix band visible through the sheer band of cloth sewn into the sleeve for that very purpose.

An area of the room had been designated the dance floor, and the Andromeda piped in old Earth waltzes for those inclined to dance. Telemachus and Alura took one trip around the floor, then Alura danced with Harper and Dylan individually. Harper was currently trying to talk Rommie into joining him on the dance floor, and Trance was swaying gently in Dylan's arms.

Alura was standing with Lecy, talking about going on another shopping excursion the next time they had shore leave, when she noticed Beka making her way to Telemachus' side across the room.

_What does _she_ want?_ Alura wondered.

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Telemachus tensed slightly when Beka approached him. This was one person he knew wouldn't be giving him best wishes on his new marriage.

"Rhade," she greeted as she came to stand beside him.

"Beka," he replied simply.

Beka glanced across the room to where Alura was, but his wife was talking and laughing with Alicia Kenyon.

"I know you're... happy with her," Beka started. "But did you really think about what this is going to mean? We don't really now much about her, and she may still leave the Andromeda. What would you do then? You're a part of this crew."

Telemachus raised his eyebrows at the somewhat backhanded compliment. He stared at his wife for several seconds. Beka was right in a way. He hadn't really considered what would happen should Alura ever choose to leave the Andromeda.

"If it does happen, I'll discuss it with her when the time comes. For the foreseeable future however, my place is still onboard the Andromeda."

This answer seemed to satisfy Beka, and she moved away, blending into the crowd. Telemachus moved to join his wife, wrapping an arm around her waist. She gave him a questioning look, but he smiled reassuringly and she went back to talking with Kenyon.

Two hours later the party was wearing down and Drago, who earlier had been dashing through the crowd talking to all the crew members he had gotten to know, was asleep in Telemachus' arms. Alura was saying thank you and good night to everyone.

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Dylan watched with a smile as Trance hugged her daughter good night. But halfway into the gesture, Dylan noticed a brief flash of light come from Trance. When she pulled away from Alura, the woman he loved looked a bit pale. Alura seemed to notice, too.

"What did you See?" Alura asked quietly, fear tingeing her voice.

Trance smiled in the somewhat distracted manner Dylan recognized as the 'I can't tell you' look and assured, "Nothing bad, Alura. Good night."

Alura studied her mother for a moment. Apparently she was satisfied with Trance's vague answer, because she sighed with relief and nodded.

"Good night, Mom."

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The morning after the party, Telemachus played the messages he had gotten from his parents for Alura. She gave his hand a sympathetic squeeze after his mother's message and smiled delightedly when she saw his father.

"I like him," Alura told him, still smiling, when the message was over.

Telemachus smiled back and lightly kissed her cheek. "I thought you might."

"He looks like you, or the other way around, I suppose."

Telemachus nodded, "You have a preview of what I'll look like down the road."

Alura's eyes twinkled. She leaned into him, and they shared a slow, passionate kiss, her hand gently tracing his arm band through the material of his shirt.

"Have you answered them?" Alura asked several minutes later.

"Not yet. That's part of the reason I showed them to you, other than wanting you to see my parents. I'd like you and Drago to stand with me when I make my reply to my father. I'll include a text only message asking that he show it to my mother too, but I'm not going to reply to her message."

Alura nodded her understanding. "I'll get Drago."

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A few days later on Tarazed, Baldur Rhade sat in one of the smaller living rooms of the Majorem Pride compound with his two wives and pressed play on the holo-message he had received from his only child. The image that appeared, however, was not only of his son. A beautiful woman stood by Telemachus' side and a young boy stood in front of the two adults.

The woman was obviously part Nietzschean from her arm spines, but Baldur couldn't identify what else she was. He had never seen anyone like her. She was a very pretty blue and silver skinned female with long hair and pointed ears. The boy looked nothing like the woman, except maybe in the shape of the eyes. He appeared to be a full Nietzschean child with a slightly darker complexion than Telemachus and dark brown, curly hair.

Baldur took another look at the woman and noticed the helix band on her left bicep. His eyes quickly moved to the image of Telemachus and, sure enough, there was a band on his son's left arm as well. Baldur sat forward and waited for the image of his son to speak with baited breath.

"Father, I am sorry it took me as long as it has to respond to your message, but I have been busy. I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Alura Anasazi of the Kodiak Pride, out of Trance by Tyr, and our adopted son, Drago Anasazi, future Alpha of Kodiak Pride and the last blood link to the Orcas, out of Freya by Tyr. I wanted to thank you for congratulating me on my new rank, it means a lot to know you're proud of me. The Andromeda has been given an important mission by Tri-Lorn, but we hope to visit when we get the chance."

The three holographic people smiled and waved before disappearing. Baldur felt Jess give his hand a happy little squeeze and smiled in her direction. His son was proud of his little family and looked the happiest Baldur had ever seen him. Baldur glanced to his left to see Isis' reaction to the news. It wasn't good.

The dark haired woman stood, turning slightly away from them to show that she would hear no arguments against what she was about to say.

"Baldur, send him a reply. He has one month to rectify this mistake. After that, he will no longer be my son."

When Isis was out of earshot, Jess asked softly, "What are we going to do?"

Baldur sank back on the sofa and lifted his love's hand, kissing her palm. "We are going to send Telemachus and his lovely young wife our best wishes. Then we will wait for Isis to cool down."

Baldur could tell from the look on Jess' face that she was afraid Isis would never cool down this time. And he feared that she was right. Isis would never tolerate Telemachus' first wife being only part Nietzschean, and the child of the false reincarnate on top of it. Isis wanted only what _she_ believed to be best for the man she was trying to groom for the position of ultimate power among the Pride.

But he could tell Telemachus was happy with Alura, and if Isis did follow through on her threat and disown their son, Telemachus might very well abandon his family and Tarazed permanently. That wasn't something Baldur wanted. But he couldn't think of anything that he could do or say to either Telemachus or Isis that would make this situation end with everyone happy.

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Dylan entered obs deck to find Trance standing at the window, staring out at the stars. He had found her there every night for the past four days, ever since the party celebrating Alura and Telemachus' marriage and the crew's first official mission as part of Tri-Lorn's Commonwealth. Each night he found her here and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. He did not ask her what was bothering her, knowing full well that she would tell him when she felt it was time. If he needed to know whatever it was.

Tonight was different though. Before he could move behind her as he had done each night before, she turned around to face him. Trance smiled softly at him, and when the love and happiness reached her eyes, Dylan knew that she had come to terms with whatever she had seen. Since Trance had been hugging Alura at the time it had happened, Dylan was sure it was about the newlywed in some way.

Trance slipped her arm around his waist and together they walked out of the room toward his quarters. And somehow Dylan knew that tonight Trance would not ask him to just hold her as they slept.

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When she was sure Dylan was asleep, Trance sat up. She lightly caressed the sleeping man's jaw, smiling when he turned his face into her touch and murmured her name. Their joining had been beautiful and fulfilling for both of them and it had taken quite a force of will not to Bond with Dylan. But Trance knew Bonding wouldn't be fair to him. He had enough worries of his own without all of hers weighing him down. She wondered briefly if Alura would have Bonded with Telemachus if she had still had Avatar powers. But thinking of Alura made her think of her vision again. Trance sighed and turned so that her legs dangled over the side of the bed. She had to fully resolve what she had seen.

The vision had been short and confusing. Alura had been the central figure, three men that Trance couldn't really see, though she thought one of them might have been Danny, flanking Alura. Her daughter had been wearing a High Guard uniform, and gathered in front of her had been six children, one of them Drago. Drago appeared to be in his mid-teens, and the other children ranged in age from around nine down to a toddler.

And Alura had been in command of a ship. A much larger ship than the Dance, a ship reminiscent of the Andromeda Ascendant in many ways. Trance wasn't sure exactly what that meant. Would Tri-Lorn be successful in re-establishing the Commonwealth after the civil war ended? Even if that were the case, how would Alura rise in rank enough in only a decade to warrant command of a ship that powerful? There were many who had military rank already that didn't have command of a ship and whatever experience Alura did have from her own reality wasn't likely to easily translate to a commission in this one.

Trance tried not to worry about it too much. Alura's path was her own to choose. And whatever choices Alura made, Trance would support her daughter, if not her actual decisions. Thinking again of the children that had been with Alura, Trance realized with a start that only two of them, the two oldest ones after Drago, had borne any resemblance to Telemachus.

Trance paled. Were they fated to lose one of Dylan's inner circle? What would losing her husband do to Alura? Trance knew that Alura had an infinite capacity for love, a capacity that growing up she had never truly been able to bestow on many people for one reason or another. So Trance had no doubt that Alura could love again after Telemachus. But would it be soon enough for the child after Telemachus' two to be a child of love?

Trance felt a hand tracing the patterns on her back and turned to smile at Dylan. He smiled sleepily up at her.

"Trance, love, stop thinking and let me make you glow again."

The Avatar's smile grew; she lay down and curled back up with her lover and did as he asked.

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**Author's Final Note:** That's all folks! If you have a question or comment in your review of this last chapter that you'd like me to respond to and you're not "signed in", please provide me with your email address. I have already started writing the sequel, but the speed at which I begin posting it will depend on how many people want to read it, so please let me know in your review if you're interested. Below is a small preview of what would be in store.

**A little preview of "Arkology Revisited":**

"_You can't really want to do this," Dylan said, his anger almost covering the concern in his tone. "Do you know how much it will hurt Telemachus?"_

_Alura glanced at her mother before answering. Trance was concerned but understood. Somehow it didn't make trying to explain the situation to Dylan any easier._

"_I have to," Alura said calmly. "Knowing how he is going to feel about _her_ by itself may not be have been enough to make it necessary, but knowing he's going to change who he is for her... _That_ I will not stand by and watch."_

_Dylan's frown deepened, and he turned to Trance, "Are you just going to hang back and let her go through with this?"_

"_No," Trance said simply. "I intend to help her."_

**Thanks again for the reviews! And to all the readers who don't usually press that little button, I hope you enjoyed my story!**


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